The Study of Converting Carbon Dioxide into Organic Fuels Using P/N Dual Photoelectrode Modules

The development of converting of carbon dioxide into possible organic fuels related technologies have been studied for several decades. However, their PEC performances and the stabilities in the aqueous solution containing carbon dioxide limit their industriral applications. Also, the solubility of carbon dioxide in the electrolytes is the major problem that limits the PEC performance of the reduction of carbon dioxide into organic fuels. Take the water solution as the necessary electrolyte into consideration, the salt or sea water containing suitable amounts of carbon dioxide or the compounds containing carbonate ions is the good electrolyte for solar-driven carbon dioxide reduction reaction with photocatalysts or photoelectrodes in a PEC cell. However, the lifetimes and reaction activities of these photocatalyst limit their large-scale industrial applications. The materials developments and preparations, the optimization of post-sulfurization/selenization process and the reactor design have to be taken into consideration. Therefore, we propose this project in order to design a high efficiency photoelectrochemical device. The major target for the project is the development of dual semiconductor thin film photoelectrodes with high reaction activity. This study includes development of semiconductor thin films with tuning energy band gaps, the simulation of post-sulfurization/selenization process and the reactor design. The test of PEC performances of these samples and the simulation of post-sulfurization/selenization process with basic concept of transport phenomena and unit operation will be carried out to find the PEC devices with high solar-to-fuel efficiency. Finally, the photoelectrochemical response of samples in salt solution containing carbon dioxide related compounds will be realized. This project is consisted of fundamental investigations of materials synthesis, theoretical analysis, and design of the photochemical modulus. We believe that our approach can be the cornerstone of developing high efficiency photochemical reactor for photoelectrochemical applications.

Project ID:PB10907-4723
External Project ID:MOST109-2221-E182-002-MY3