Synthetic, light-driven proton pump has the added potential capability to desalinate with direct solar power By binding photosensitive dyes to common plastic membranes and adding water, chemists at the University of California, Irvine have made a new type of solar power generator. The device is similar to familiar silicon photovoltaic cells but differs in a fundamental way: Instead of being produced via electrons, its electricity comes from the motion of ions. Dubbed the âsynthetic, light-driven proton pumpâ by its creators, the innovation â because of its ionic basis â has the added potential capability of taking the salt out of seawater. âThe materials used to make such a device can be dirt-cheap,â said Shane [âŠ] Synthetic, light-driven proton pump has the added potential capability to desalinate with direct solar powerDME GmbH2017-12-15T13:51:19+01:00
Conversion of Visible Light into Ionic Power Using Photoacid-Dye-Sensitized Bipolar Ion-Exchange Membranes ⊠Here, we report a âŒ60-fold increase in the photovoltage through use of a bipolar membrane structure consisting of a cation-exchange membrane affixed to an anion-exchange membrane. The junction between the layers was characterized in detail using electrochemistry, scanning electron microscopy, spectroscopy, and thermal gravimetric analysis. Our results represent considerable progress toward a device that directly converts sunlight into ionic electricity, which has implications for direct solar desalination of salt water. ⊠Introduction It has been over three-quarters of a century since the discovery of the semiconductor pn-junction diode, [âŠ] Conversion of Visible Light into Ionic Power Using Photoacid-Dye-Sensitized Bipolar Ion-Exchange MembranesDME GmbH2017-11-28T07:41:22+01:00
