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Performance of lyotropic liquid crystal-based photoelectrochemical capacitors for solar-to- electrical energy conversion

Halls, Jonathan E; Ward, Haydn J; Althali, Amal A; Testut, Laetitia; Kocsis, Dávid; Alhassan, Huda S; Kelly, S M; Lawrence, Nathan S; Wadhawan, Jay D

Authors

Jonathan E Halls

Haydn J Ward

Amal A Althali

Laetitia Testut

Dávid Kocsis

Huda S Alhassan

S M Kelly

Nathan S Lawrence



Contributors

F. Kongoli
Editor

H. Inufasa
Editor

M.G. Boutelle
Editor

R. Compton
Editor

J.-M. Dubois
Editor

F. Murad
Editor

Abstract

Regenerative photoelectrochemical capacitors, adapted from a experimental system previously reported (J. E. Halls, J. D. Wadhawan, Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, 5, 6541) and based on the doping of a lamellar lyotropic liquid crystal with visible light sensitizer tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II), N-methylphenothiazine, zinc(II) ions and potassium chloride (as electrolyte) are examined in this work. The two dye species, by virtue of similarity in redox potentials and difference in size and lipophilicity, allow for electron transfer cascades to occur under illumination, which can be harnessed in a power-generating device through the use of a sacrificial counter electrode. In operation as a solar cell, a maximum light-to-electrical power conversion efficiency is reported as being ~5.0% under green light (530 nm centreband, 30 nm bandwidth, 2.2 mW cm-2 intensity), which extrapolates to the opportunistic value of 1% under one Sun conditions. The electrical characteristics of the devices under illumination afford specific capacitances of ca. 0.5-1.0 F g-1 and have fill factors ~20% which are close to the 25% expected for a perfect photogalvanic cell. The time constants of the reported devices (~1.5 s) are consistent with the notion of electroporation of the surfactant lamellae. The advantages of these mid-ranging photoelectrochemical capacitors are suggested as being their low cost and versatility afforded by their flexible liquid framework that appears to realign itself under conditions of open circuit.

Citation

Halls, J. E., Ward, H. J., Althali, A. A., Testut, L., Kocsis, D., Alhassan, H. S., …Wadhawan, J. D. (2018). Performance of lyotropic liquid crystal-based photoelectrochemical capacitors for solar-to- electrical energy conversion. In F. Kongoli, H. Inufasa, M. Boutelle, R. Compton, J. Dubois, & F. Murad (Eds.), Sustainable Industrial Processing Summit SIPS2018 Volume 2. Amatore Intl. Symp. / on Electrochemistry for Sustainable Development (121-130)

Conference Name Sustainable industrial processing summit and exhibition
Conference Location Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Start Date Nov 4, 2018
End Date Nov 7, 2018
Acceptance Date Oct 9, 2018
Online Publication Date Oct 9, 2018
Publication Date 2018
Deposit Date Dec 29, 2018
Publicly Available Date Jan 3, 2019
Journal SUSTAINABLE INDUSTRIAL PROCESSING SUMMIT AND EXHIBITION Intl. Symp. On… Edited
Volume 1
Pages 121-130
Series Title Metals and materials processing in a clean environment series
Series ISSN 2291-1227
Book Title Sustainable Industrial Processing Summit SIPS2018 Volume 2. Amatore Intl. Symp. / on Electrochemistry for Sustainable Development
ISBN 978-1-987820-84-3
Keywords Photogalvanic device; Electrochemical capacitor; Regenerative solar cell; Lyotropic liquid crystals; Molecular electrochemistry; Photoelectrochemistry
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/1199426
Publisher URL https://www.flogen.org/sips2018/paper-2-410.html

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