Amphiphilic mesoporous graphene mediated efficient photoionic cell

Abstract

Photoionic cell is a facile concept for direct solar energy conversion and storage based on dye-quencher couples. We propose a system based on dye modified amphiphilic mesoporous graphene (APG) and cobalt EDTA as a photoionic cell. Upon light irradiation, the dyes are excited and quenched by cobalt EDTA in aqueous solution to form oxidized cobalt EDTA and reduced dyes that are hydrophobic. Solar energy is then converted into electrochemical energy in the form of the oxidized cobalt EDTA in aqueous solutions and reduced dyes in APG. Compared to organic phase usually used for photoionic cells, the usage of APG can lead to increased amount of dye molecules in the photoionic cells, and can achieve approximately 100% separation of the reduced dyes from the oxidized cobalt EDTA for long term energy storage.