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Monolithic Photoelectrochemical CO 2 Reduction Producing Syngas at 10% Efficiency
Author(s) -
Kistler Tobias A.,
Um Min Young,
Cooper Jason K.,
Sharp Ian D.,
Agbo Peter
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
advanced energy materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.08
H-Index - 220
eISSN - 1614-6840
pISSN - 1614-6832
DOI - 10.1002/aenm.202100070
Subject(s) - syngas , materials science , electrocatalyst , carbon monoxide , solar fuel , chemical engineering , carbon fibers , photoelectrochemical cell , hydrogen , process engineering , nanotechnology , photocatalysis , catalysis , electrochemistry , electrode , organic chemistry , chemistry , electrolyte , composite material , composite number , engineering
Increasing anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions have prompted the search for photoelectrochemical (PEC) methods of converting CO 2 to useful commodity products, including fuels. Ideally, such PEC approaches will be sustained using only sunlight, water, and CO 2 as energetic and reactant inputs. However, low peak conversion efficiencies (<5%) have made commercialization of fully‐integrated PEC devices prohibitive. Here, a 4 cm 2 monolithic PEC device exceeding 10% solar‐to‐fuel efficiency with principal fuel products of carbon monoxide and hydrogen is reported. The corresponding solar‐to‐CO and solar‐to‐H 2 efficiencies are 7% and 3.5%, respectively. Screening of a range of operating conditions reveals a tunable product mixture of H 2 and CO using a gold electrocatalyst. Accordingly, it is shown that device optimization yields a H 2 ‐to‐CO ratio of 1:2 commonly present in synthesis gas (syngas). Notably, the modularity and facile fabrication of this device permit the incorporation of a broad array of materials for various applications. For example, the electrocatalyst may easily be swapped to target a different set of products.