Solar-to-Chemical Fuel Conversion via Metal Halide Perovskite Solar-Driven Electrocatalysis

Haowei Huang, Bo Weng, Hongwen Zhang, Feili Lai, Jinlin Long, Johan Hofkens, Richard E. Douthwaite, Julian A. Steele*, Maarten B.J. Roeffaers

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

Sunlight is an abundant and clean energy source, the harvesting of which could make a significant contribution to society's increasing energy demands. Metal halide perovskites (MHP) have recently received attention for solar fuel generation through photocatalysis and solar-driven electrocatalysis. However, MHP photocatalysis is limited by low solar energy conversion efficiency, poor stability, and impractical reaction conditions. Compared to photocatalysis, MHP solar-driven electrocatalysis not only exhibits higher solar conversion efficiency but also is more stable when operating under practical reaction conditions. In this Perspective, we outline three leading types of MHP solar-driven electrocatalysis device technologies now in the research spotlight, namely, (1) photovoltaic-electrochemical (PV-EC), (2) photovoltaic-photoelectrochemical (PV-PEC), and (3) photoelectrochemical (PEC) approaches for solar-to-fuel reactions, including water-splitting and the CO2 reduction reaction. In addition, we compare each technology to show their relative technical advantages and limitations and highlight promising research directions for the rapidly emerging scientific field of MHP-based solar-driven electrocatalysis.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)25-41
Number of pages17
JournalJOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
Volume13
Issue number1
Early online date27 Dec 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 13 Jan 2022

Bibliographical note

© 2021 American Chemical Society. This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. Further copying may not be permitted; contact the publisher for details



Funding Information:
The authors acknowledge financial support from the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO Grant Nos. G.0B39.15, G.0B49.15, G098319N, 1280021N, 1242922N, 12Y7221N, 12Y6418N, VS052320N, and ZW15_09-GOH6316N), the KU Leuven Research Fund (C14/19/079 and iBOF-21-085 PERSIST), KU Leuven Industrial Research Fund (C3/19/046), the Flemish government through long term structural funding Methusalem (CASAS2, Meth/15/04), the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No. 891276, and MPI financial support to J.H. as an MPI fellow. H.H. acknowledges the financial support from KU Leuven (PDM/20/113).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 American Chemical Society.

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