Photorechargeable High Voltage Redox Battery Enabled by Ta3N5 and GaN/Si Dual-Photoelectrode

Solar rechargeable battery combines the advantages of photoelectrochemical devices and batteries and has emerged as an attractive alternative to artificial photosynthesis for large-scale solar energy harvesting and storage. Due to the low photovoltages by the photoelectrodes, however, most previous demonstrations of unassisted photocharge have been realized on systems with low open circuit potentials (<0.8 V). In response to this critical challenge, here it is shown that the combined photovoltages exceeding 1.4 V can be obtained using a Ta3N5 nanotube photoanode and a GaN nanowire/Si photocathode with high photocurrents (>5 mA cm(-2)). The photoelectrode system makes it possible to operate a 1.2 V alkaline anthraquinone/ferrocyanide redox battery with a high ideal solar-to-chemical conversion efficiency of 3.0% without externally applied potentials. Importantly, the photocharged battery is successfully discharged with a high voltage output.