Fu Hui-Chun, Li Wenjie, Yang Ying, Lin Chun-Ho, Veyssal Atilla, He Jr-Hau, Jin Song
Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1101 University Avenue, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.
Division of Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
Nat Commun. 2021 Jan 8;12(1):156. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-20287-w.
Converting and storing solar energy and releasing it on demand by using solar flow batteries (SFBs) is a promising way to address the challenge of solar intermittency. Although high solar-to-output electricity efficiencies (SOEE) have been recently demonstrated in SFBs, the complex multi-junction photoelectrodes used are not desirable for practical applications. Here, we report an efficient and stable integrated SFB built with back-illuminated single-junction GaAs photoelectrode with an n-p-n sandwiched design. Rational potential matching simulation and operating condition optimization of this GaAs SFB lead to a record SOEE of 15.4% among single-junction SFB devices. Furthermore, the TiO protection layer and robust redox couples in neutral pH electrolyte enable the SFB to achieve stable cycling over 408 h (150 cycles). These results advance the utilization of more practical solar cells with higher photocurrent densities but lower photovoltages for high performance SFBs and pave the way for developing practical and efficient SFBs.
通过使用太阳能液流电池（SFBs）来转换和存储太阳能并按需释放，是应对太阳能间歇性挑战的一种很有前景的方法。尽管最近在SFBs中已展示出高的太阳能到输出电效率（SOEE），但所使用的复杂多结光电极并不适合实际应用。在此，我们报道了一种高效且稳定的集成SFB，它采用具有n-p-n夹层设计的背照式单结GaAs光电极构建而成。对这种GaAs SFB进行合理的电位匹配模拟和操作条件优化，在单结SFB器件中实现了创纪录的15.4%的SOEE。此外，TiO保护层和中性pH电解液中稳健的氧化还原对使该SFB能够在408小时（150次循环）内实现稳定循环。这些结果推动了具有更高光电流密度但更低光电压的更实用太阳能电池在高性能SFBs中的应用，并为开发实用且高效的SFBs铺平了道路。
