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Chen L, Song X, Luo W, Zhu C, Zhou J, Tian Z, Zhang W, Li J. Simulation an effective light trapping structure for boosting photoelectrocatalytic water splitting. J Colloid Interface Sci 2025; 679:349-357. [PMID: 39366264 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2024.09.212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2024] [Revised: 09/01/2024] [Accepted: 09/26/2024] [Indexed: 10/06/2024]
Abstract
Solar energy converted by photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells showcases significant potential for addressing the energy crisis. However, limitations stemming from photoelectrode structure have hindered the efficiency improvements of PEC cells. In this work, we utilized the finite-time domain difference method to simulate the PEC performance of GaAs photoanode in a PEC cell. Through finite element analysis, we determined the thickness of GaAs photoanode to be 265 nm and subsequently designed the concave-structured photoanode. Comparison of cross-sectional photoelectric characteristic between flat and concave structured photoanodes revealed significant improvements in the latter. Specifically, the absorption of concave structure increased by 30.61 % compared to flat structure, accompanied by 2.7 times increase in Pmax and 2.2 times increase in JSC. Further analysis of the impact of depth-to-width ratio and inner surface area on light-trapping characteristics demonstrated their influence on absorption and photoelectrical performance. Interestingly, concave structures presented a 14.70 % higher absorption compared to flat structures, translating to 1.48 times increase in surface area absorption rate. Moreover, the Pmax increase was 3.08 times greater than the increase in surface area. We anticipate that our structural simulation findings will offer valuable theoretical insights for the design of light-trapping structures, thereby enhancing the performance of PEC cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Le Chen
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Information Processing, School of Optoelectronic Engineering, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin 541004, China
| | - Xiangli Song
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Information Processing, School of Optoelectronic Engineering, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin 541004, China
| | - Wei Luo
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Information Processing, School of Optoelectronic Engineering, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin 541004, China
| | - Chen Zhu
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Information Processing, School of Optoelectronic Engineering, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin 541004, China
| | - Junqiang Zhou
- Guangxi Century Innovation Display Electronics Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Branch, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Zhongwu Tian
- Guangxi Century Innovation Display Electronics Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Branch, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Wentao Zhang
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Information Processing, School of Optoelectronic Engineering, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin 541004, China.
| | - Jinliang Li
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Information Processing, School of Optoelectronic Engineering, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin 541004, China; Siyuan Laboratory, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Vacuum Coating Technologies and New Materials, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanophotonic Manipulation, Department of Physics, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
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2
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Zhang C, Hao Y, Lu X, Su W, Zhang H, Wang ZL, Li X. Advances in TENGs for Marine Energy Harvesting and In Situ Electrochemistry. NANO-MICRO LETTERS 2025; 17:124. [PMID: 39888455 PMCID: PMC11785903 DOI: 10.1007/s40820-024-01640-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2024] [Accepted: 12/23/2024] [Indexed: 02/01/2025]
Abstract
The large-scale use of ample marine energy will be one of the most important ways for human to achieve sustainable development through carbon neutral development plans. As a burgeoning technological method for electromechanical conversion, triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) has significant advantages in marine energy for its low weight, cost-effectiveness, and high efficiency in low-frequency range. It can realize the efficient and economical harvesting of low-frequency blue energy by constructing the floating marine energy harvesting TENG. This paper firstly introduces the power transfer process and structural composition of TENG for marine energy harvesting in detail. In addition, the latest research works of TENG on marine energy harvesting in basic research and structural design are systematically reviewed by category. Finally, the advanced research progress in the power take-off types and engineering study of TENG with the marine energy are comprehensively generalized. Importantly, the challenges and problems faced by TENG in marine energy and in situ electrochemical application are summarized and the corresponding prospects and suggestions are proposed for the subsequent development direction and prospects to look forward to promoting the commercialization process of this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuguo Zhang
- School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, 100044, People's Republic of China.
| | - Yijun Hao
- School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, 100044, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiangqian Lu
- School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, 100044, People's Republic of China
| | - Wei Su
- School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, 100044, People's Republic of China
| | - Hongke Zhang
- School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, 100044, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhong Lin Wang
- CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, Beijing Key Laboratory of Micro-Nano Energy and Sensor, Beijing, 100190, People's Republic of China.
- Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 101400, People's Republic of China.
| | - Xiuhan Li
- School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, 100044, People's Republic of China.
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3
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High Oxygen-Yield Homogeneous Sonophotocatalysis for Water-splitting Using Theraphthal. J Photochem Photobiol A Chem 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jphotochem.2022.114463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
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Nie C, Lin W, Yuan D, Jiang H, Yang J, Wu H, Wang M, Hu Y, Wang B, Wang X. Solar Boosting Pollutant Removal plus Hydrogen Production by Lifting-Heat and Lowering-Potential Chemical Synergy. ACS OMEGA 2022; 7:33443-33452. [PMID: 36157761 PMCID: PMC9494643 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.2c04186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2022] [Accepted: 08/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Solar-boosted oxidation plus hydrogen production for pollutant removal in wastewater, driven by a high thermal and low-potential electrochemical combination, is facilitated and demonstrated from theory to experiments. One sun fully offers both thermal and electrical energy powered thermo- and electrochemistry for pollutant oxidation. Solar thermal action provides high temperatures for the activation of the pollutant molecules to gear up for solar-driven electrochemical oxidation. Taking wastewater containing phenol as an example, the cyclic voltammetry (CV) curves display two redox processes at less than 100 °C, while only one redox process of single oxidation of phenol appears at more than 100 °C. The oxidation of phenol is accompanied by an efficient evolution of hydrogen, in which the yield of 0.627 mL at 30 °C is increased to 2.294 mL at 210 °C. The phenol removal is enhanced to 80.50% at 210 °C. Tracking the reaction progress shows that small molecular organic acids are detected as the only intermediate at the high temperatures, which suggests the easy realization of full mineralization. The kinetic reaction of the phenol oxidation is fitted to the first order with an increase of the rate constant of 10 times compared with that at low temperatures. Solar engineering of oxidation of organic pollutants not only solves the issue of energy demand for the tough wastewater treatment but also realizes fast and efficient oxidation of organic pollutants. This study opens up new avenues to achieve solar wastewater treatment and simultaneous hydrogen production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunhong Nie
- College
of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Northeast Petroleum University, Daqing 163318, China
| | - Wenpeng Lin
- College
of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Northeast Petroleum University, Daqing 163318, China
| | - Dandan Yuan
- College
of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Northeast Petroleum University, Daqing 163318, China
| | - Hong Jiang
- College
of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Northeast Petroleum University, Daqing 163318, China
| | - Jiangrui Yang
- College
of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Northeast Petroleum University, Daqing 163318, China
| | - Hongjun Wu
- College
of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Northeast Petroleum University, Daqing 163318, China
| | - Meng Wang
- College
of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Northeast Petroleum University, Daqing 163318, China
| | - Ye Hu
- College
of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Northeast Petroleum University, Daqing 163318, China
| | - Baohui Wang
- College
of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Northeast Petroleum University, Daqing 163318, China
| | - Xirui Wang
- Department
of Chemistry, George Washington University, Washington, District of
Columbia 20052, United
States
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Seenivasan S, Moon H, Kim DH. Multilayer Strategy for Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Generation: New Electrode Architecture that Alleviates Multiple Bottlenecks. NANO-MICRO LETTERS 2022; 14:78. [PMID: 35334000 PMCID: PMC8956779 DOI: 10.1007/s40820-022-00822-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Accepted: 02/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Years of research have demonstrated that the use of multiple components is essential to the development of a commercial photoelectrode to address specific bottlenecks, such as low charge separation and injection efficiency, low carrier diffusion length and lifetime, and poor durability. A facile strategy for the synthesis of multilayered photoanodes from atomic-layer-deposited ultrathin films has enabled a new type of electrode architecture with a total multilayer thickness of 15-17 nm. We illustrate the advantages of this electrode architecture by using nanolayers to address different bottlenecks, thus producing a multilayer photoelectrode with improved interface kinetics and shorter electron transport path, as determined by interface analyses. The photocurrent density was twice that of the bare structure and reached a maximum of 33.3 ± 2.1 mA cm-2 at 1.23 VRHE. An integrated overall water-splitting cell consisting of an electrocatalytic NiS cathode and Bi2S3/NiS/NiFeO/TiO2 photoanode was used for precious-metal-free seawater splitting at a cell voltage of 1.23 V without degradation. The results and root analyses suggest that the distinctive advantages of the electrode architecture, which are superior to those of bulk bottom-up core-shell and hierarchical architectures, originate from the high density of active sites and nanometer-scale layer thickness, which enhance the suitability for interface-oriented energy conversion processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Selvaraj Seenivasan
- School of Chemical Engineering, Chonnam National University, 77 Yongbong-ro, Gwangju, 61186, Republic of Korea
| | - Hee Moon
- School of Chemical Engineering, Chonnam National University, 77 Yongbong-ro, Gwangju, 61186, Republic of Korea
| | - Do-Heyoung Kim
- School of Chemical Engineering, Chonnam National University, 77 Yongbong-ro, Gwangju, 61186, Republic of Korea.
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Dong F, Pang Z, Yang S, Lin Q, Song S, Li C, Ma X, Nie S. Improving Wastewater Treatment by Triboelectric-Photo/Electric Coupling Effect. ACS NANO 2022; 16:3449-3475. [PMID: 35225606 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.1c10755] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
The ability to meet higher effluent quality requirements and the reduction of energy consumption are the biggest challenges in wastewater treatment worldwide. A large proportion of the energy generated during wastewater treatment processes is neglected and lost in traditional wastewater treatment plants. As a type of energy harvesting system, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) can extensively harvest the microscale energies generated from wastewater treatment procedures and auxiliary devices. This harvested energy can be utilized to improve the removal efficiency of pollutants through photo/electric catalysis, which has considerable potential application value in wastewater treatment plants. This paper gives an overall review of the generated potential energies (e.g., water wave energy, wind energy, and acoustic energy) that can be harvested at various stages of the wastewater treatment process and introduces the application of TENG devices for the collection of these neglected energies during wastewater treatment. Furthermore, the mechanisms and catalytic performances of TENGs coupled with photo/electric catalysis (e.g., electrocatalysis, photoelectric catalysis) are discussed to realize higher pollutant removal efficiencies and lower energy consumption. Then, a thorough, detailed investigation of TENG devices, electrode materials, and their coupled applications is summarized. Finally, the intimate coupling of self-powered photoelectric catalysis and biodegradation is proposed to further improve removal efficiencies in wastewater treatment. This concept is conducive to improving knowledge about the underlying mechanisms and extending applications of TENGs in wastewater treatment to better solve the problems of energy demand in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feilong Dong
- College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China
| | - Zhen Pang
- College of Civil Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China
| | - Shuyi Yang
- College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China
| | - Qiufeng Lin
- Department of Earth and Environmental Studies, Montclair State University, Montclair, New Jersey 07043, United States
| | - Shuang Song
- College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China
| | - Cong Li
- School of Environment and Architecture, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Xiaoyan Ma
- College of Civil Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China
| | - Shuangxi Nie
- School of Light Industry and Food Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
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Pan M, Yuan C, Liang X, Zou J, Zhang Y, Bowen C. Triboelectric and Piezoelectric Nanogenerators for Future Soft Robots and Machines. iScience 2020; 23:101682. [PMID: 33163937 PMCID: PMC7607424 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2020.101682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) and piezoelectric nanogenerator (PENG) are two recently developed technologies for effective harvesting of ambient mechanical energy for the creation of self-powered systems. The advantages of TENGs and PENGs which include large open-circuit output voltage, low cost, ease of fabrication, and high conversion efficiency enable their application as new flexible sensors, wearable devices, soft robotics, and machines. This perspective provides an overview of the current state of the art in triboelectric and piezoelectric devices that are used as self-powered sensors and energy harvesters for soft robots and machines; hybrid approaches that combine the advantages of both mechanisms are also discussed. To improve system performance and efficiency, the potential of providing self-powered soft systems with a degree of multifunctionality is investigated. This includes optical sensing, transparency, self-healing, water resistance, photo-luminescence, or an ability to operate in hostile environments such as low temperature, high humidity, or high strain/stretch. Finally, areas for future research directions are identified.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Pan
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath, BA2 7AY Bath, UK
| | - Chenggang Yuan
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath, BA2 7AY Bath, UK
| | - Xianrong Liang
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath, BA2 7AY Bath, UK
- National Engineering Research Centre of Novel Equipment for Polymer Processing, School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
| | - Jun Zou
- State Key Laboratory of Fluid Power and Mechatronic Systems, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Yan Zhang
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath, BA2 7AY Bath, UK
- State Key Laboratory of Powder Metallurgy, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410083 China
| | - Chris Bowen
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath, BA2 7AY Bath, UK
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