Issue 8, 2016

Solar-powered electrochemical energy storage: an alternative to solar fuels

Abstract

Because of the intermittent nature of solar radiation, being able to simultaneously convert and store solar energy is a significant advance for efficiently harnessing solar energy. Solar fuels have already been recognized as a promising method towards this goal and have attracted tremendous research interest recently. Alternatively, this goal can also be achieved by using the solar-powered electrochemical energy storage (SPEES) strategy, which integrates a photoelectrochemical cell and an electrochemical cell into a single device. The integrated device is able to harvest solar energy and store it in situ within the device via a photocharging process and also distribute the energy as electric power when needed. This essay reviews the past SPEES research and analyzes its future prospects with a special emphasis on chemical design and material choices. We hope that the article will help draw more research attention to this field and stimulate additional exciting investigations toward more efficient solar energy utilization.

Graphical abstract: Solar-powered electrochemical energy storage: an alternative to solar fuels

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
01 ستمبر 2015
Accepted
18 نومبر 2015
First published
18 نومبر 2015

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2016,4, 2766-2782

Solar-powered electrochemical energy storage: an alternative to solar fuels

M. Yu, W. D. McCulloch, Z. Huang, B. B. Trang, J. Lu, K. Amine and Y. Wu, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2016, 4, 2766 DOI: 10.1039/C5TA06950E

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements