Water photolysis via multi-junction perovskite solar cell and highly active catalyst

Abstract

Production of sustainable and renewable hydrogen fuel has attracted more and more attentions recently. Amongst the production methods, sunlight-driven water splitting is known as the most popular way to obtain hydrogen from water. This field has gained a significant development rate with the emergence of lead halide perovskite sensitizer (CH3NH3PbI3) as a promising material for photovoltaics cells, which can drive the water splitting experiment. In this project, water splitting was successfully processed with the introduction of multi-junction perovskite solar cells system combined with an efficient catalyst. Specifically, the catalyst electrode deposited with a RuO2 layer exhibits a high catalytic activity toward the oxygen evolution reaction in alkaline electrolyte. We have achieved a photocurrent of 9.45×〖10〗^(-3) milliamperes per square centimeters, which is not satisfied enough, however this result is believed to be further improved in the future. The current limitation is the short life span of perovskite solar cells, which leads to its degradation after few hours and hence requires more researches to reach better stability. Although the result is not totally satisfying, this is the starting point for future researches on water photolysis derived from the method combining tandem solar cells and electrocatalysts.