Photovoltaic Water Splitting for Sustainable Hydrogen Production
Channel: JMU ISAT
Date: 2017-07-02

Full Title: Photovoltaic Water Splitting for Sustainable Hydrogen Production by Kyle Fakhoury and Anna Soyka
Advised by: Dr. Davide Lawrence
Abstract: Increasing worldwide energy demand combined with the volatility of fossil fuel supply has called for a large scale increase of renewable energy production. One of the most promising renewable sources for electric power is solar energy from photovoltaics. However, solar energy is intermittent and lacks dispatchability. Various storage technologies are being developed in an effort to make solar energy more efficient and convenient. One way energy can be stored is with hydrogen gas. Through a process called electrolysis, water can be split into O2 and H2 gases if an electric current of about 1.23 volts are applied. If the hydrogen gas is stored, it can be combined with atmospheric oxygen to reclaim the energy it took to split it initially. The purpose of this capstone project is to develop a device that can split water with sunlight, using Earth-abundant materials. In order to produce the required 1.23 volts, we are synthesizing a photovoltaic cell, made of Zn-doped GaAsP, combined with a photocatalyst, BiVO4. In between the two photoanodes, we are also applying a layer of SnO2 to provide chemical protection as well as electrical conduction. In theory, our solar device will split water in the presence of sunlight, which is an imitation of the first step of photosynthesis. For this reason we refer to it as an artificial leaf.