Opening the door to mass production of green hydrogen using natural sunlight

The Korea Institute of Equipment and Supplies (KIMM), beneath the Nationwide Analysis Council of Science & Know-how, has developed a expertise that stably generates excessive photocurrent beneath pure daylight to effectively produce hydrogen.

By simplifying beforehand complicated multi-step processes, this development drastically reduces fabrication time and is anticipated to speed up the commercialization of solar-powered hydrogen manufacturing applied sciences.

The analysis workforce led by Dr. Jihye Lee, a principal researcher and head of the Nano-lithography & Manufacturing Analysis Heart at KIMM’s Nano-convergence Manufacturing Analysis Division, has developed a way to reinforce the productiveness of BiVO₄ (bismuth vanadate) photoelectrodes, thereby maximizing hydrogen manufacturing.

The outcomes have been published within the Journal of Supplies Chemistry A

Bivo₄ is a steel oxide acknowledged as a key materials for photo voltaic water-splitting techniques on account of its excessive gentle absorption and solar-to-hydrogen (STH) conversion effectivity.

Beforehand, BiVO₄ precursor options may solely be ready at concentrations as much as 100 mM. This limitation necessitated over eight repetitions of spin-coating and heat-treatment steps to kind high-performance skinny movies, which considerably slowed the method and elevated materials consumption, leading to low productiveness.

To beat these limitations, the analysis workforce developed a high-concentration BiVO₄ precursor resolution by optimally mixing acetylacetone, acetic acidand dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). With this new resolution, a one-step spin coating is enough to provide uniform and high-performance BiVO₄ thin filmsenhancing general productiveness by roughly 5.9 instances in comparison with standard strategies.

Moreover, the workforce fabricated a large-area 144 cm² photoelectrode and related 4 of them to create a 576 cm² ultra-large electrode system.

Notably, by linking this technique in parallel with Si solar cellsthey succeeded in producing hydrogen utilizing solely pure daylight, with none exterior energy supply. This method generated steady and excessive photocurrents even beneath pure daylight, thus considerably enhancing the economic viability and effectivity of eco-friendly hydrogen manufacturing and enhancing the prospects for commercialization.

Dr. Jihye Lee said, “This research represents a breakthrough in the fabrication efficiency and productivity of large-area photoelectrodes through the development of a high-concentration BiVO₄ precursor solution. We expect it will contribute to accelerating the transition to sustainable power and the commercialization of inexperienced hydrogen manufacturing.”

The analysis workforce has filed for home and PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) patents based mostly on this expertise.