Boosting Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting by TENG-Charged Li-Ion Battery

The need for cost-effective and sustainable power supplies has spurred a growing interest in hybrid energy harvesting systems, and the most elementary energy production process relies on intermittent solar power. Here, it is shown how the ambient mechanical energy leads to water splitting in a photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell boosted by a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG). In this strategy, a flexible TENG collects and transforms mechanical energy into electric current, which boosts the PEC water splitting via the charged Li-ion battery. Au nanoparticles are deposited on TiO2 nanoarrays for extending the available light spectrum to visible part by surface plasmon resonance effect, which yields a photocurrent density of 1.32 mA cm(-2) under AM 1.5 G illumination and 0.12 mA cm(-2) under visible light with a bias of 0.5 V. The TENG-charged battery boosts the water splitting performance through coupling electrolysis and enhanced electron-hole separation efficiency. The hybrid cell exhibits an instantaneous current more than 9 mA with a working electrode area of 0.3 cm(2), suggesting a simple but efficient route for simultaneously converting solar radiation and mechanical energy into hydrogen.