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Examining architectures of photoanode–photovoltaic tandem cells for solar water splitting

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Abstract

Given the limitations of the materials available for photoelectrochemical water splitting, a multiphoton (tandem) approach is required to convert solar energy into hydrogen efficiently and durably. Here we investigate a promising system consisting of a hematite photoanode in combination with dye-sensitized solar cells with newly developed organic dyes, such as the squaraine dye, which permit new configurations of this tandem system. Three configurations were investigated: two side-by-side dye cells behind a semitransparent hematite photoanode, two semitransparent dye sensitized solar cells (DSCs) in front of the hematite, and a trilevel hematite/DSC/DSC architecture. Based on the current-voltage curves of state-of-the-art devices made in our laboratories, we found the trilevel tandem architecture (hematite/SQ1 dye/N749 dye) produces the highest operating current density and thus the highest expected solar-to-hydrogen efficiency (1.36% compared with 1.16% with the standard back DSC case and 0.76% for the front DSC case). Further investigation into the wavelength-dependent quantum efficiency of each component revealed that in each case photons lost as a result of scattering and reflection reduce the performance from the expected 3.3% based on the nanostructured hematite photoanodes. We further suggest avenues for the improvement of each configuration from both the DSC and the photoanode parts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut des sciences et ingénierie chimiques, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH-1015, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Jeremie Brillet, Maurin Cornuz, Florian Le Formal, Jun-Ho Yum, Michael Grätzel & Kevin Sivula

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  1. Jeremie Brillet
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  2. Maurin Cornuz
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  3. Florian Le Formal
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  4. Jun-Ho Yum
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  5. Michael Grätzel
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  6. Kevin Sivula
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Correspondence to Kevin Sivula.

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Brillet, J., Cornuz, M., Formal, F.L. et al. Examining architectures of photoanode–photovoltaic tandem cells for solar water splitting. Journal of Materials Research 25, 17–24 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1557/JMR.2010.0009

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