Material selection for optical optimization of up-scaled photoelectrochemical reactors E. Le Baron 1 , E. Bérut 1 , A. Disdier 1 , F. Vidal 1 , A. Ó Manacháin 2 1 Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CEA, Liten, LITEN, DTCH, L2TS, F-38000, Grenoble, France, 2 Departments of the Tyndall National Institute, the School of Chemistry and the Environmental Research Insitute, College of SEFS, University College Cork, College Road, Cork, County Cork, T12 K8AF, Ireland The need for sustainable renewable energy has never been more urgent. Harnessing solar energy in order to power water electrolysis and produce green hydrogen is therefore a promising prospect. Hydrogen is indeed a versatile energy carrier. It can be stored and used at any time by converting its chemical energy into thermal, mechanical and/or electrical energy. The Horizon Europe FreeHydroCells project (Grant Agreement No 101084261) [1] is dedicated to the development of a novel, low-cost, and durablephotoelectrochemical (PEC) system made from elements abundant on Earth and capable of converting solar energy directly and efficiently into chemical energy (with hydrogen gas storing the chemical energy). While laboratory-scale successes in this field are promising, recent efforts to translate these advances into practical large-scale solar water splitting devices reveal significant performance gaps. Scaling up PEC technology is indeed a major challenge. As the system scales up to industrial volumes, significant performance loss occurs. One of the key factors to maximize overall performance is the optimization of light energy capture at the system level. This paper thus investigates light attenuation in a monolithic PEC water splitting system and provides guidance on the selection of materials for PEC reactors, considering their optical properties, scalability and cost. The transmittance, reflectance and absorptance of individual components (windows, electrolytes, absorbers and mirrors) were characterized as a function of the wavelength. The aggregated results give an optical efficiency (i.e., proportion of the solar spectrum absorbed and potentially converted into hydrogen) of about 12% to 14%. The final monolithic device was also assembled and characterized with laboratory and portable optical equipment to confirm the results obtained from the individual components. The optical characterization of PEC device components, using affordable materials, is essential to understand the absorption phenomenon in multilayer assemblies and to optimize the choice of materials and their thickness, with the ultimate aim of reducing parasitic light absorption. References 1. https://freehydrocells.eu/
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