All-vanadium redox photoelectrochemical cell: An approach to store solar energy

• An all-vanadium photoelectrochemical storage cell was demonstrated for the first time.
• Electrochemically reversible vanadium redox species were employed.
• An incident photon-to-current efficiency of 12% under 350 nm was achieved.
• This storage cell exhibited Faradaic efficiency of 95% in 25 h continuous operation.

A highly-efficient all-vanadium photoelectrochemical storage cell has been demonstrated in this work. This storage cell takes advantage of fast electrochemical kinetics of vanadium redox couples of VO2+/VO2 + and V3 +/V2 +, and appears as a promising alternative to photoproduction of hydrogen from water. Continuous photocharging for 25 h revealed a VO2 + conversion rate of 0.0042 μmol/h and Faradaic efficiency of 95% without external voltage bias. The incident photon-to-current efficiency (IPCE) at 350 nm light was calculated to be ~ 12%.

An all-vanadium photo-electrochemical storage cell has been demonstrated to yield a Faradaic efficiency of 95% without external bias and incident photon-to-current efficiency of ~ 12% at 350 nm light.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide