TY - JOUR
T1 - An Integrated Device View on Photo-Electrochemical Solar-Hydrogen Generation
AU - Modestino, Miguel A.
AU - Haussener, Sophia
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 by Annual Reviews. All rights reserved.
PY - 2015/7/24
Y1 - 2015/7/24
N2 - Devices that directly capture and store solar energy have the potential to significantly increase the share of energy from intermittent renewable sources. Photo-electrochemical solar-hydrogen generators could become an important contributor, as these devices can convert solar energy into fuels that can be used throughout all sectors of energy. Rather than focusing on scientific achievement on the component level, this article reviews aspects of overall component integration in photo-electrochemical water-splitting devices that ultimately can lead to deployable devices. Throughout the article, three generalized categories of devices are considered with different levels of integration and spanning the range of complete integration by one-material photo-electrochemical approaches to complete decoupling by photovoltaics and electrolyzer devices. By using this generalized framework, we describe the physical aspects, device requirements, and practical implications involved with developing practical photo-electrochemical water-splitting devices. Aspects reviewed include macroscopic coupled multiphysics device models, physical device demonstrations, and economic and life cycle assessments, providing the grounds to draw conclusions on the overall technological outlook.
AB - Devices that directly capture and store solar energy have the potential to significantly increase the share of energy from intermittent renewable sources. Photo-electrochemical solar-hydrogen generators could become an important contributor, as these devices can convert solar energy into fuels that can be used throughout all sectors of energy. Rather than focusing on scientific achievement on the component level, this article reviews aspects of overall component integration in photo-electrochemical water-splitting devices that ultimately can lead to deployable devices. Throughout the article, three generalized categories of devices are considered with different levels of integration and spanning the range of complete integration by one-material photo-electrochemical approaches to complete decoupling by photovoltaics and electrolyzer devices. By using this generalized framework, we describe the physical aspects, device requirements, and practical implications involved with developing practical photo-electrochemical water-splitting devices. Aspects reviewed include macroscopic coupled multiphysics device models, physical device demonstrations, and economic and life cycle assessments, providing the grounds to draw conclusions on the overall technological outlook.
KW - photo-electrochemistry
KW - solar devices
KW - solar fuels
KW - solar water splitting
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84938818763&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84938818763&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1146/annurev-chembioeng-061114-123357
DO - 10.1146/annurev-chembioeng-061114-123357
M3 - Article
C2 - 26083057
AN - SCOPUS:84938818763
SN - 1947-5438
VL - 6
SP - 13
EP - 34
JO - Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
JF - Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
ER -