Ionized solar cells help seawater desalination

Modern solar cells can use light energy to produce electrons and holes, which are then transferred from semiconductor materials to external circuits for use by people. However, few people are concerned about another type of power generation driven by light energy, that is, by decomposing water molecules to obtain oppositely-charged protons and hydroxides. Recently, U.S. researchers reported a new design in the Joule magazine, which has a good application prospect in power generation and desalination.

According to Shane Ardo, an advanced researcher and assistant professor at the University of California, Irvine, they created an "ionically-simulated electronic PN junction solar cell" that uses light energy to stimulate the semiconductor properties of water and thus generate ion electricity. They hope to use this mechanism to create a device that can desalt seawater directly under sunlight.

In the new study, the researchers passed water through two ion exchange membranes, one of which mainly transports protons of positively charged ions, and the other mainly transports negatively charged ions, such as hydroxides, which act like a pair of "chemical gates." "Isolate the charge. Then, the researchers used a laser irradiation system to bind photosensitive organic dye molecules to the film and liberate the protons. These protons are then transported to the acidic side of the membrane, producing ion currents (average 60 mV) that can exceed 100 mV.

Although in addition to the occasional threshold of more than 100 mV, the current level achievable by this dual-membrane system remains its current major limitation. To achieve seawater desalination, the photovoltaic voltage must be amplified to 200 mV, but researchers are optimistic about achieving this goal. "Understanding the characteristics of water allows us to better design these bipolar membrane interfaces to maximize voltage and current," said Ardo.

In the long run, seawater desalination is only one of the applications of synthetic light-driven proton pumps developed by researchers. It may also be used to connect electronic devices, provide signals for brain-computer interfaces, and even provide energy to "artificial cells" that combine living tissue with artificial circuits.

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