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Photoelectrochemistry Energy Applications and Materials

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2021) | Viewed by 10095

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
Interests: photoelectrochemical cells; solar energy harvest and storage; semiconductor nanofabrication; solar hydrogen generation; redox flow batteries; nanomaterials

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Low-price, sustainable, clean energy is a growing concern of society as it is at the center of most daily activities, including industry, transportation, communication, and lighting. Energy transportation, storage, and distribution are critical factors of the supply chain, and, so far, chemical fuels have been the mainstream solution for their set of qualities. We are dependent on them for most of our energy portability, but traditional fuels take a heavy toll on pollution levels. Additionally, the increasing living standards and energy transition require the continuous availability of renewable energy sources; thus, the pressure to develop clean fuels is high.

Solar energy is a much needed growing segment as it is the most abundant energy supply on our planet. Sunlight is not evenly distributed across the globe, but it is highly accessible, making its conversion into chemical fuels an ideal low carbon energy solution. Many advances in this field have been made, from solar water splitting for hydrogen production to solar charging of redox flow batteries. However, a cost-efficient solution is still elusive and researchers still struggle to build a device that could penetrate the general market and bring photoelectrochemical energy production into our daily lives. From a fundamental understanding of solar energy conversion at a solid-state level to material development and cell design, many challenges still need unraveling. There is also an unsettled debate about the economic viability of photoelectrochemical devices against alternatives such as solid-state batteries or electrolyzers coupled with photovoltaic panels. The topics of interest for this Special Issue include but are not limited to the following:

  • Physicochemical solar conversion processes
  • Device engineering
  • Organic/inorganic semiconductor material development
  • Numerical simulation
  • Techno-economic analysis
  • Photocatalysts
  • Surface modification
  • Redox couples and electrolytes
  • Chemical fuels

Dr. João Azevedo
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Photoelectrochemical cells
  • Cell design
  • Semiconductor
  • Solar water splitting
  • Solar fuels
  • Photocatalysis
  • Solar energy conversion
  • Hydrogen
  • Solar batteries
  • Energy storage
  • Techno-economic analysis
  • Nanostructuring
  • Solid-liquid junctions
  • Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy
  • Biological semiconductors
  • Photoelectrodes
  • Redox couples
  • Electrolytes
  • Numerical simulation
  • Photoelectrocatalytic modeling
  • Membrane
  • Physical Chemistry

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 6525 KiB  
Article
A Hybrid Nanofluid of Alumina and Tungsten Oxide for Performance Enhancement of a Parabolic Trough Collector under the Weather Conditions of Budapest
by Otabeh Al-Oran and Ferenc Lezsovits
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(11), 4946; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11114946 - 27 May 2021
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 2789
Abstract
Recently, there has been significant interest in the thermal performance of parabolic trough collectors. They are capable of operating and generating highly variable temperature ranges, which can be used in various applications. This paper, therefore, addressed the thermal performance model of using a [...] Read more.
Recently, there has been significant interest in the thermal performance of parabolic trough collectors. They are capable of operating and generating highly variable temperature ranges, which can be used in various applications. This paper, therefore, addressed the thermal performance model of using a parabolic trough collector under the radiation intensity level found in Budapest city, as well as the effect of inserting a hybrid nanofluid as the thermal fluid. First, a new modified hybrid nanofluid of alumina and tungsten oxide-based Therminol VP1 is used to enhance the thermal properties of the thermal fluid to be more efficient to use. This enhancement is performed under various volume concentrations and has a volume fraction of 50:50. Second, in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the thermal element, mathematical energy balance equations were solved and simulated using MATLAB Symbolic Tools. The simulation is presented for two cases: one under a constant radiation intensity and the other under the radiation intensity level of Budapest. For both cases, the results of the dimensionless Nusselt number, heat transfer coefficient, pressure drop, exergy efficiency, and energy efficiency are described. The major findings show that a volume concentration of 4% (Al2O3 and WO3) based Therminol VP1 was the most efficient volume concentrations in both cases. For the first case, the maximum enhancement of the Nusselt number and the heat transfer coefficient are 138% and 169%, respectively. These results enhanced the thermal and exergy efficiencies by 0.39% and 0.385% at a temperature 600 K, flow rate of 150 L/min, and radiation intensity of 1000 W/m2. For the second case, the maximum exergy and energy values are recorded at midday under Budapest’s summer climatic conditions and reach 32.728% and 71.255%, respectively, under the optimum temperature of 500 K and flow rate of 150 L/min. Accordingly, the mean improvement in thermal and exergy efficiencies approximately equal to 0.25% at a high concentration, regardless of the season (summer or winter). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Photoelectrochemistry Energy Applications and Materials)
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13 pages, 4269 KiB  
Article
Synthesis of Cobalt Oxide on FTO by Hydrothermal Method for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting Application
by Siti Nurul Falaein Moridon, Mohd Nur Ikhmal Salehmin, Khuzaimah Arifin, Lorna Jeffery Minggu and Mohammad B. Kassim
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(7), 3031; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11073031 - 29 Mar 2021
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 6468
Abstract
Cobalt oxide thin films were successfully grown directly on fluorine-doped tin oxide glass substrates through a simple, green, and low-cost hydrothermal method. An investigation into the physicochemical characteristics and photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties of the developed cobalt oxide thin film was comprehensively performed. At [...] Read more.
Cobalt oxide thin films were successfully grown directly on fluorine-doped tin oxide glass substrates through a simple, green, and low-cost hydrothermal method. An investigation into the physicochemical characteristics and photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties of the developed cobalt oxide thin film was comprehensively performed. At various annealing temperatures, different morphologies and crystal phases of cobalt oxide were observed. Microflowers (Co3O4) and microflowers with nanowire petals (Co3O4/CoO) were produced at 450 °C and 550 °C, respectively. Evaluation of the PEC performance of the samples in KOH (pH 13), Na2SO4 (pH 6.7), and H2SO4 (pH 1) revealed that the highest photocurrent −2.3 mA cm−2 generated at −0.5 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) was produced by Co3O4 (450 °C) in H2SO4 (pH 1). This photocurrent corresponded to an 8-fold enhancement compared with that achieved in neutral and basic electrolytes and was higher than the results reported by other studies. This promising photocurrent generation was due to the abundant source of protons, which was favorable for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in H2SO4 (pH 1). The present study showed that Co3O4 is photoactive under acidic conditions, which is encouraging for HER compared with the mixed-phase Co3O4/CoO. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Photoelectrochemistry Energy Applications and Materials)
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