Decoupled hydrogen and oxygen production were successfully embedded into an aqueous dual-electrolyte (acid-base) battery for simultaneous energy storage and conversion. A three-electrode configuration was adopted, involving an electrocatalytic hydrogen-evolving electrode as cathode, an alkaline battery-type or capacitor-type anode as shuttle, and a charging-assisting electrode for electro-/photoelectrochemically catalyzing water oxidation. The conceptual battery not only synergistically outputs electricity and chemical fuels with tremendous specific energy and power densities, but also supports various approaches to be charged by pure or solar-assisted electricity.
Keywords: decoupled water splitting; electrocatalysis; pH gradient; photoelectrocatalysis; rechargeable battery.
© 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.