Efficient photosynthesis of carbon monoxide from CO2 using perovskite photovoltaics
Open Access
- 11 June 2015
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Nature Communications
- Vol. 6 (1), 7326
- https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms8326
Abstract
Artificial photosynthesis, mimicking nature in its efforts to store solar energy, has received considerable attention from the research community. Most of these attempts target the production of H2 as a fuel and our group recently demonstrated solar-to-hydrogen conversion at 12.3% efficiency. Here, in an effort to take this approach closer to real photosynthesis, which is based on the conversion of CO2, we demonstrate the efficient reduction of CO2 to carbon monoxide driven solely by simulated sunlight using water as the electron source. Employing series-connected perovskite photovoltaics and high-performance catalyst electrodes, we reach a solar-to-CO efficiency exceeding 6.5%, which represents a new benchmark in sunlight-driven CO2 conversion. Considering hydrogen as a secondary product, an efficiency exceeding 7% is observed. Furthermore, this study represents one of the first demonstrations of extended, stable operation of perovskite photovoltaics, whose large open-circuit voltage is shown to be particularly suited for this process.This publication has 35 references indexed in Scilit:
- Efficient and selective carbon dioxide reduction on low cost protected Cu2O photocathodes using a molecular catalystEnergy & Environmental Science, 2014
- Water photolysis at 12.3% efficiency via perovskite photovoltaics and Earth-abundant catalystsScience, 2014
- Ten-percent solar-to-fuel conversion with nonprecious materialsProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2014
- The light and shade of perovskite solar cellsNature Materials, 2014
- Solar energy: Springtime for the artificial leafNature, 2014
- Organohalide lead perovskites for photovoltaic applicationsEnergy & Environmental Science, 2014
- A review of catalysts for the electroreduction of carbon dioxide to produce low-carbon fuelsChemical Society Reviews, 2014
- Photochemical and Photoelectrochemical Reduction of CO2Annual Review of Physical Chemistry, 2012
- The teraton challenge. A review of fixation and transformation of carbon dioxideEnergy & Environmental Science, 2010
- High-efficiency integrated multijunction photovoltaic/electrolysis systems for hydrogen productionInternational Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2001