A versatile open-source analysis of the limiting efficiency of photo electrochemical water-splitting

Scientific Reports
Isaac Holmes-Gentle, Klaus Hellgardt

Abstract

Understanding the fundamental thermodynamic limits of photo-electrochemical (PEC) water splitting is of great scientific and practical importance. In this work, a 'detailed balance' type model of solar quantum energy converters and non-linear circuit analysis is used to calculate the thermodynamic limiting efficiency of various configurations of PEC design. This model is released as freely accessible open-source (GNU GPL v3) code written in MATLAB with a graphical user interface (GUI). The capabilities of the model are demonstrated by simulating selected permutations of PEC design and results are validated against previous literature. This tool will enable solar fuel researchers to easily compare experimental results to theoretical limits to assess its realised performance using the GUI. Furthermore, the code itself is intended to be extendable and so can be modified to include non-ideal losses such as the over-potential required or complex optical phenomena.

References

Sep 4, 2015·Scientific Reports·Yunlu XuJeremy N Munday
Oct 28, 2015·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Meenesh R SinghAlexis T Bell
Nov 1, 2016·Nature Communications·Jieyang JiaThomas F Jaramillo
Dec 3, 2016·Nature Communications·Katherine T FountaineHarry A Atwater

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Citations

Dec 19, 2019·Chemphyschem : a European Journal of Chemical Physics and Physical Chemistry·Evangelos KalamarasJin Xuan

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Software Mentioned

javascript
MATLAB Compiler
MATLAB

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