Hybridized Mechanical and Solar Energy-Driven Self-Powered Hydrogen Production

Nano-Micro Letters

Yina Liu¹  Guotao Yuan²  Jun Zhong²  Ningning Zhai²  Aimin Wei²  Kun Feng²  Xuhui Sun²  Zhen Wen²  Xuelian Wei³  Yinghuai Qiang³ 

[1] Department of Mathematical Sciences, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University;Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials and Devices, Institute of Functional Nano and Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Soochow University;Jiangsu Province Engineering Laboratory of High Efficient Energy Storage Technology and Equipments, School of Materials Science and Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology;

关键词: WO3/BiVO4 heterojunction;    Photoelectrochemical hydrogen generation;    Triboelectric nanogenerator;    Mechanical energy;    Solar energy;   

DOI  :  10.1007/s40820-020-00422-4

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Abstract Photoelectrochemical hydrogen generation is a promising approach to address the environmental pollution and energy crisis. In this work, we present a hybridized mechanical and solar energy-driven self-powered hydrogen production system. A rotatory disc-shaped triboelectric nanogenerator was employed to harvest mechanical energy from water and functions as a sufficient external power source. WO3/BiVO4 heterojunction photoanode was synthesized in a PEC water-splitting cell to produce H2. After transformation and rectification, the peak current reaches 0.1 mA at the rotation speed of 60 rpm. In this case, the H2 evolution process only occurs with sunlight irradiation. When the rotation speed is over 130 rpm, the peak photocurrent and peak dark current have nearly equal value. Direct electrolysis of water is almost simultaneous with photoelectrocatalysis of water. It is worth noting that the hydrogen production rate increases to 5.45 and 7.27 μL min−1 without or with light illumination at 160 rpm. The corresponding energy conversion efficiency is calculated to be 2.43% and 2.59%, respectively. All the results demonstrate such a self-powered system can successfully achieve the PEC hydrogen generation, exhibiting promising possibility of energy conversion.

【 授权许可】

Unknown