Technological Offer

Photoelectrochemical tests

Description

Photoelectrochemical tests of energy interest are offered to measure the photocatalytic activity materials susceptible of acting as photoelectrodes for CO2 conversion and/or hydrogen production via water splitting.

Tests to measure the photocatalytic activity of thin film of materials for CO2 conversion and hydrogen evolution are offered. Three kinds of tests are possible:

General photoelectrochemical characterization. Photovoltage and photocurrent measures provide quantitative and qualitative information on the light absorption and charge separation ability of the materials. These measures will be performed in a three electrode cell configuration in open circuit potential (OCP) and under different bias potential respectively. They will provide information about the ability of the tested materials to be used as photoelectrodes in different applications identifying the best systems for the water splitting and CO2 reduction reactions. A solar simulator (A.M 1.5) will be used as illumination source.

Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen production experiments are carried out in a photoelectrochemical glass cell connected to a dual-channel micro-GC 490 from Agilent Technologies, equipped with MS5A PLOT and PoraPLOT U columns and TCD detectors. In a typical experiment, the material to be tested is used as working electrode and illuminated during the electrochemical measures. Argon is flowed through the PEC cell to remove air and carry the product gases.

Photoelectrochemical CO2 reduction experiments are carried out in a photoelectrochemical glass cell connected to a dual-channel micro-GC 490 from Agilent Technologies, equipped with MS5A PLOT and PoraPLOT U columns and TCD detectors. In a typical experiment, the material to be tested is used as working electrode and illuminated during the electrochemical measures. CO2 gas is flowed through the PEC cell to remove air and carry the conversion products which can be detected and quantified.

Advantages and Innovations

The offered tests allow to explore the photoelectrochemical properties thin film materials for the mentioned reactions with relatively low amounts. The different possible conditions mean a considerable experimental versatility.

Market Applications

  • Photoelectrochemistry
  • CCSU technologies
  • Hydrogen

Contact

Félix Marín, felix.marin@imdea.org