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Ramalingam K, Wei Q, Chen F, Shen K, Liang M, Dai J, Hou X, Ru Q, Babu G, He Q, Ajayan PM. Achieving High-Quality Freshwater from a Self-Sustainable Integrated Solar Redox-Flow Desalination Device. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2021; 17:e2100490. [PMID: 34160139 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202100490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2021] [Revised: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Solar-assisted electrochemical desalination has offered a new energy-water nexus technology for sustainable development in recent studies. However, only a few reports have demonstrated insufficient photocurrent, a low salt removal rate, and poor stability. In this study, a high-quality freshwater level of 5-10 ppm (from an initial feed of 10 000 ppm), an enhanced salt removal rate (217.8 µg cm-2 min-1 of NaCl), and improved cycling and long-term stability are achieved by integrating dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) and redox-flow desalination (RFD) under light irradiation without additional electrical energy consumption. The DSSC redox electrolyte (I- /I3- ) is circulated between the photoanode (N719/TiO2 ) and intermediate electrode (graphite paper). Two DSSCs in parallel or series connections are directly coupled to the RFD device. Overall, this hybrid system can be used to boost photo electrochemical desalination technology. The energy-water nexus technology will open a new route for dual-role devices with photodesalination functions without energy consumption and solar-to-electricity generation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karthick Ramalingam
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center of Efficient Green Energy and Environment Protection Materials, School of Physics and Telecommunication Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, P. R. China
- Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory of Quantum Matter, Frontier Research Institute for Physics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Qiang Wei
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center of Efficient Green Energy and Environment Protection Materials, School of Physics and Telecommunication Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, P. R. China
- Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory of Quantum Matter, Frontier Research Institute for Physics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Fuming Chen
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center of Efficient Green Energy and Environment Protection Materials, School of Physics and Telecommunication Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, P. R. China
- Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory of Quantum Matter, Frontier Research Institute for Physics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Kaixiang Shen
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center of Efficient Green Energy and Environment Protection Materials, School of Physics and Telecommunication Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, P. R. China
- Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory of Quantum Matter, Frontier Research Institute for Physics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Mengjun Liang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center of Efficient Green Energy and Environment Protection Materials, School of Physics and Telecommunication Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, P. R. China
- Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory of Quantum Matter, Frontier Research Institute for Physics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Jinhong Dai
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center of Efficient Green Energy and Environment Protection Materials, School of Physics and Telecommunication Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, P. R. China
- Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory of Quantum Matter, Frontier Research Institute for Physics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Xianhua Hou
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center of Efficient Green Energy and Environment Protection Materials, School of Physics and Telecommunication Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, P. R. China
- Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory of Quantum Matter, Frontier Research Institute for Physics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Qiang Ru
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center of Efficient Green Energy and Environment Protection Materials, School of Physics and Telecommunication Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, P. R. China
- Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory of Quantum Matter, Frontier Research Institute for Physics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Ganguli Babu
- Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, Department Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Department of Chemistry, Rice University, Houston, Texas, 77005, USA
| | - Qinyu He
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center of Efficient Green Energy and Environment Protection Materials, School of Physics and Telecommunication Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, P. R. China
- Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory of Quantum Matter, Frontier Research Institute for Physics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Pulickel M Ajayan
- Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, Department Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Department of Chemistry, Rice University, Houston, Texas, 77005, USA
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Gopalraman A, Karuppuchamy S, Vijayaraghavan S. High efficiency dye-sensitized solar cells with VOC–JSC trade off eradication by interfacial engineering of the photoanode|electrolyte interface. RSC Adv 2019; 9:40292-40300. [PMID: 35542632 PMCID: PMC9076186 DOI: 10.1039/c9ra08278f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2019] [Accepted: 11/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Interfacial modification of the photoanode|electrolyte interface using oleic acid (OA) is thoroughly investigated in this present study. The overall photoconversion efficiency of 11.8% was achieved under the illumination of 100 mW cm−2 with an optical filter of AM 1.5 G. OA molecules were meant to be adsorbed on to the vacant areas of the TiO2 and the OA moieties leached out the aggregated C106 dye molecules from the TiO2 surface. There was a strong spectral overlap between the absorption spectrum of donor (OA) and the emission spectrum of acceptor (C106), leading to effective Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) between OA and C106 and suggested an excellent opportunity to improve the photovoltaic performances of DSSCs. UV-vis DRS and UPS analysis revealed that OA molecules created new surface (mid-gap energy) states (SS) in TiO2 and these SS played a major role in the electron transport kinetics. Mott–Schottky analysis of DSSCs under dark conditions was carried out to find the shift in the flat band potential of TiO2 upon OA modification. Surprisingly, no trade off between VOC and JSC was observed after interfacial modification with OA. The dynamics of charge recombination and electron transport at the photoanode|electrolyte interface were studied in detail using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. VOC–JSC trade off is eliminated. Newly created surface states by OA in TiO2 facilitated the charge transfer kinetics.![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Anantharaj Gopalraman
- Corrosion and Materials Protection Division
- CSIR-Central Electrochemical Research Institute
- Karaikudi
- India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research
| | | | - Saranyan Vijayaraghavan
- Corrosion and Materials Protection Division
- CSIR-Central Electrochemical Research Institute
- Karaikudi
- India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research
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