Potential analysis of a perovskite solar cell-thermally regenerative electrochemical cycles/refrigerators hybrid system

Abstract

To efficiently harness the low-grade heat sources, a novel solar-driven integrated system that combines perovskite solar cell (PSC) with thermally regenerative electrochemical cycles/refrigerators (TRECs-TRERs) is constructed. Based on thermodynamic analysis and electrochemical theory, the mathematical correlation between the PSC output voltage and the TRECs-TRERs operating current is determined. Taking full account of major irreversible losses, mathematical expressions are then deduced to calculate the critical indicators. For the proposed model, numerical calculations indicate that the maximum power output capacity and maximum efficiency are 239.58 Wm−2 and 23.95%, respectively, which are 35.61% and 35.64% greater than those of the stand-alone PSC module. In contrast to other coupled systems based on TRECs-TRERs, more performance gains are achieved in the proposed system. Finally, exhaustive sensitivity analyses are executed to elucidate the dependency of systemic performance upon key design parameters and operational variables. Overall, the findings of this study may contribute to the ongoing efforts in optimizing and designing advanced solar power systems.