Photo-driven water splitting photoelectrochemical cells by tandem organic dye sensitized solar cells with I−/I3− as redox mediator

Dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical tandem cells have shown the promise for light driven hydrogen production from water owing to the low cost,wide absorption spectra in the visible region and ease to process of their constitutive photoelectrode materials.However,most photo-driven water splitting photoelectrochemical cells driven by organic dye sensitized solar cells exhibit unsatisfactory hydrogen evolution rate,primarily attributed to their poor light capturing ability and low photocurrent performance.Here we present the construction of a tandem system consisting of an organic blue-colored S5 sensitizer-based dyesensitized photoelectrochemical cell(DSPEC) wired in series with three spectral-complemental dyes BTA-2,APP-3 and APP-1 sensitizers-based dye-sensitized solar cell(DSC),respectively.The two spectral-complemental chromophores were used in DSC and DSPEC to ensure that the full solar spectrum could be absorbed as much as possible.The results showed that the photocurrent of tandem device was closely related to the open-circuit voltage(Voc) of sensitized DSC,in which the tandem configuration consisting of S5 based DSPEC and BTA-2 based DSC gave the best photocurrent.On this basis,tandem device with the only light energy and no external applied electrical bias was further constructed of BTA-2 based 2-junction DSC and S5 based DSPEC and obtained a photocurrent of 500 μA cm-2 for hydrogen generation.Furthermore,I-/I3-was used as a redox couple between dye regeneration and O2 production on the surface of Pt-IrO2/WO3.The strategy opens up the application of pure organic dyes in DSC/DSPEC tandem device.     

Controlled Synthesis of Cr‐Co0.85Se Nanoarrays for Water Splitting at an Ultralow Cell Voltage of 1.43 V

Water splitting has attracted more and more attention as a promising strategy for the production of clean hydrogen fuel. In this work, a new synthesis strategy was proposed, and Co_0.85Se was synthesized on nickel foam as the main matrix. The doping of appropriate Cr amount into the target of Co_0.85Se and the Cr‐Co_0.85Se resulted in an excellent electrochemical performance. The doping of Cr introduces Cr³⁺ ions which substitute Co²⁺ and Co³⁺ ions in Co_0.85Se, so that the lattice parameters of the main matrix were changed. It is worth noting that the Cr0.15‐Co_0.85Se/NF material exhibits an excellent performance in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) test. When the current density reaches 50 mA cm^?2 for OER, the overpotential is only 240 mV. For the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) tests, the overpotential is only 117 mV to drive 10 mA cm^?2 of current density. Moreover, when the Cr0.15‐Co_0.85Se/NF material is used as a two‐electrode device for whole water splitting, the required cell voltage is only 1.43 V to reach a current density of 10 mA cm^?2, which is among the lowest values of the published catalysts up to now. In addition, the Cr0.15‐Co_0.85Se/NF catalyst also exhibits excellent stability during a long period of water splitting. The experimental result demonstrates that the change of the lattice structure has an obvious influence on the electrocatalytic activity of the material. When an external electric field is applied, it facilitates the rapid electron transfer rate and enhances the electrocatalytic performance and stability of the material.     

Molybdenum Carbide‐Embedded Multichannel Hollow Carbon Nanofibers as Bifunctional Catalysts for Water Splitting

With the environmental pollution and non‐renewable fossil fuels, it is imperative to develop eco‐friendly, renewable, and highly efficient electrocatalysts for sustainable energy. Herein, a simple electrospinning process used to synthesis Mo₂C‐embedded multichannel hollow carbon nanofibers (Mo₂C‐MCNFs) and followed by the pyrolysis process. As prepared lotus root‐like nanoarchitecture could offer rich porosity and facilitate the electrolyte infiltration, the Mo₂C‐MCNFs delivered favourable catalytic activity for HER and OER. The resultant catalysts exhibit low overpotentials of 114 mV and 320 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm^?2 for HER and OER, respectively. Furthermore, using the Mo₂C‐MCNFs catalysts as a bifunctional electrode toward overall water splitting, which only needs a small cell voltage of 1.68 V to afford a current density of 10 mA cm^?2 in the home‐made alkaline electrolyzer. This interesting work presents a simple and effective strategy to further fabricating tunable nanostructures for energy‐related applications.     

Fe/Co‐based Bimetallic MOF‐derived Co3Fe7@NCNTFs Bifunctional Electrocatalyst for High‐Efficiency Overall Water Splitting

Electrocatalytic water splitting to produce hydrogen and oxygen is regarded as one of the most promising methods to generate clean and sustainable energy for replacing fossil fuels. However, the design and development of an efficient bifunctional catalyst for simultaneous generation of hydrogen and oxygen remains extremely challenging yet is critical for the practical implementation of water electrolysis. Here, we report a facile method to fabricate novel N‐doped carbon nanotube frameworks (NCNTFs) by the pyrolysis of a bimetallic metal organic framework (MIL‐88‐Fe/Co). The resultant electrocatalyst, Co₃Fe₇@NCNTFs, exhibits excellent oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity, achieving 10 mA/cm² at a low overpotential of just 264 mV in 1 M KOH solution, and 197 mV for the hydrogen evolution reaction. The high electrocatalytic activity arises from the synergistic effect between the chemistry of the Co₃Fe₇ and the NCNTs coupled to the novel framework structure. The remarkable electrocatalytic performance of our bifunctional electrocatalyst provides a promising pathway to high‐performance overall water splitting and electrochemical energy devices.     

双向分束角对称的偏光分束镜设计与性能分析

为了获得分束角对称的偏光分束棱镜,在双Wollaston棱镜结构的基础上,通过合理设计棱镜左右两端晶体光轴的取向,使棱镜整体呈中心切面对称;在保证对正向入射的光对称分束的同时,对反向入射光同样可以对称分束,达到了双向对称分束的目的;在此基础上给出了晶体光轴的旋转角δ与棱镜结构角S以及与波长的关系;并分析了对633 nm设计的棱镜用于其他波长时分束角的对称性.结果表明：在±300 nm的光谱范围内,分束角的不对称度均小于0.24°.     

Splitting of coupled bright solitons in two-component Bose-Einstein condensates under parametric perturbation

We analyze the dynamics of bright-bright solitons in two-component Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) subject to parametric perturbations using the variational approach and direct numerical simulations. The system is described by a vector nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLSE) appropriate to coupled multi-component BECs. A periodic variation of the inter-component coupling coefficient is used to explore nonlinear resonances and splitting of the coupled bright solitons. The analytical predictions are confirmed by direct numerical simulations of the vector NLSE.     

Controllably asymmetric beam splitting via gap-induced diffraction channel transition in dual-layer binary metagratings

In this work, we designed and studied a feasible dual-layer binary metagrating, which can realize controllable asymmetric transmission and beam splitting with nearly perfect performance. Owing to ingenious geometry configuration, only one meta-atom is required to design for the metagrating system. By simply controlling air gap between dual-layer metagratings, high-efficiency beam splitting can be well switched from asymmetric transmission to symmetric transmission. The working principle lies on gap-induced diffraction channel transition for incident waves from opposite directions. The asymmetric/symmetric transmission can work in a certain frequency band and a wide incident range. Compared with previous methods using acoustic metasurfaces, our approach has the advantages of simple design and tunable property and shows promise for applications in wavefront manipulation, noise control and one-way propagation.     

钴铁水滑石基材料在电催化析氧中的应用

析氧反应(OER)是电催化裂解水、二次金属-空气电池和可再生燃料电池等绿色可持续能源储存和转化技术中的关键步骤,但其较高的势垒和迟滞的动力学过程限制了反应的效率。因此,设计开发高效、稳定的非贵金属催化剂是新能源领域面临的挑战之一。钴铁水滑石(CoFe LDH)材料具有独特的二维层状结构、丰富多变的化学组成、高分散的金属阳离子、优异的稳定性和成本低廉等优点,在OER反应中有广泛的应用前景。但不良的导电性和有限的活性位点阻碍了CoFe LDH的工业化应用。本文首先介绍了CoFe LDH的结构并阐述了其OER反应机理,接着总结了CoFe LDH的制备工艺,并详细综述了近年来提升其OER性能的改性策略：插层剥离、空位制造、材料复合、离子取代和衍生物等。最后讨论了水滑石材料现阶段存在的问题和未来在能源转化和利用领域的发展方向。     

Photocatalytic Activities for Water Splitting of RuO_2-loaded MGa_2O_4（M=Zn,Ni） with d~（10） Configuration

MGa2O4(M=Zn,Ni) rods with similar crystallinity and BET surface area were prepared via a facile template-engaged reaction.The photocatalytic activities for water splitting of RuO2-loaded MGa2O4(M=Zn,Ni) were investigated under high-pressure Hg lamp.RuO2-loaded ZnGa2O4 catalyst exhibited much higher photocatalytic activity than RuO2-loaded NiGa2O4.Factors affecting the photocatalytic activities of RuO2-loaded MGa2O4(M=Zn,Ni) were discussed.It was suggested that the electronic structure of oxide semiconductor was a predominant factor of the photocatalytic behavior for RuO2-loaded MGa2O4(M=Zn,Ni).