Photoelectrochemical Gas–Electrolyte–Solid Phase Boundary for Hydrogen Production From Water Vapor
Hydrogen production from humidity in the ambient air reduces the maintenance costs for sustainable solar-driven water splitting. We report a gas-diffusion porous photoelectrode consisting of tungsten trioxide (WO3) nanoparticles coated with a proton-conducting polymer electrolyte thin film for visib...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2018-12-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Chemistry |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fchem.2018.00598/full |
| Summary: | Hydrogen production from humidity in the ambient air reduces the maintenance costs for sustainable solar-driven water splitting. We report a gas-diffusion porous photoelectrode consisting of tungsten trioxide (WO3) nanoparticles coated with a proton-conducting polymer electrolyte thin film for visible-light-driven photoelectrochemical water vapor splitting. The gas–electrolyte–solid triple phase boundary enhanced not only the incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) of the WO3 photoanode but also the Faraday efficiency (FE) of oxygen evolution in the gas-phase water oxidation process. The IPCE was 7.5% at an applied voltage of 1.2 V under 453 nm blue light irradiation. The FE of hydrogen evolution in the proton exchange membrane photoelectrochemical cell was close to 100%, and the produced hydrogen was separated from the photoanode reaction by the membrane. A comparison of the gas-phase photoelectrochemical reaction with that in liquid-phase aqueous media confirmed the importance of the triple phase boundary for realizing water vapor splitting. |
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| ISSN: | 2296-2646 |