Skip Navigation

Science @mander.xyz

𝕋𝕚𝕕𝕓𝕚𝕋 @mander.xyz

2w ago

This Triple-Layer Sunlight Catalyst Supercharges Green Hydrogen by 800%

More effective production of “green” hydrogen with new combined material

2 comments

The new material has eight times better performance than pure cubic silicon carbide
Nowhere is it stated how efficient either material is, other than to say that the researchers are 5-10 years away from a material that's 10% efficient. So they must have an efficiency of less than that I guess.
From the paper, the closest I can see is:
The applied bias photon-to-current efficiency (ABPE) of the Ni(OH)2/Co3O4/3C-SiC photoanode reached 0.47% at 0.65 V vs RHE, which is 15.6 and 1.8 times higher than that of the 3C-SiC and Co3O4/3C-SiC photoanodes, respectively (Figure 4b)
I don't know how representative that measurement is though.
- Good question.
  The paper's PDF give clearer, less click-baity information on efficiency:
  The applied bias photon-to-current efficiency (ABPE) of the Ni(OH)2/Co3O4/3C-SiC photoanode reached 0.47% at 0.65V vs RHE, which is 15.6 and 1.8 times higher than that of the 3C-SiC and Co3O4/3C-SiC photoanodes, respectively (Figure 4b).
  A 8x increase is good progress for that specific technique, but 0.47% is very low efficiency. There's still ways to go.