Hydrogen Generation from Solar Energy
The idea of splitting water with sunlight is quite old, but the current efficiency of such systems is only 7%-12%. This invention incorporates photovoltaic cells (PV) and micro-chemical reactors to create an integrated device that utilizes light energy to convert water into hydrogen at a more efficient rate than current technologies. The device is compact, scalable, and can be manufactured using conventional integrated circuit manufacturing technology. As the world is looking for alternative means to fuel our future it appears solar and hydrogen produced energy may be some of the cleanest and most sustainable methods for doing so. This invention would help meet the need for an efficient means of energy that does not stick to the conventional fossil fuel paradigm, and since the chemical is generated on demand it overcomes some of the problems associated with transportation and portability. If developed properly this invention could find its way into a wide range of applications.
- Portable hydrogen fuel cell systems
- Electro-chemical reactor driven by solar energy
- Renewable source of hydrogen generation
- Compact and scalable
- Integrates photovoltaic and chemical-reactor cells for higher efficiency
- Fabricated using existing integrated circuit manufacturing technologies
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
File Number:
UA06-089
Detailed Description:
An array of photovoltaic (PV) cells connected in series or in parallel is fabricated on one substrate while a micro-chemical reactor is fabricated on another. The two substrates are then fused to create a single device, and electrical energy from the PV cells is used to drive the chemical reaction that causes hydrogen generation and extraction. Energy from the infrared and far infrared spectrum is also used to increase the temperature and thus the efficiency of the micro-reactor. The PV cells are optimized for light to electricity conversion and the micro-reactor is optimized for hydrogen generation, but the device can be designed to drive other electro-chemical reactions
The micro-reactor uses at least two electrodes for hydrolysis, which are coated with catalysis and connected to the PV cell. This micro-reactor has a large surface area to volume ratio, an extremely uniform temperature, pressure, and chemical, diffusion profile, and can be stacked to provide larger throughput.
The PV cell consists of thin layers of doped semiconductor (the light absorbing material) on either silicon or a glass substrate. An electron hole pair is created by absorption of a photon and is subsequently swept out to an external circuit. The conversion efficiency of the PV cell can be as high as 24% for crystalline silicon.
Other information:
- Lead Inventor: Stanley Pau, PhD
- Refer to: Case # UA06-089
- Contact: Patrick Jones
pljones@email.arizona.edu
