Photolytic production of hydrogen
First Claim
1. In a method of photolytic production of hydrogen in a photolytic device comprising maintaining an aqueous electrolyte in contact with an anode and a cathode, one of said anode and cathode being a photoelectrode, illuminating the photoelectrode, evolving hydrogen at the cathode and a co-product at the anode, the improvement wherein said photoelectrode comprises a substantially transparent, electrolyte resistance electrocatalytic layer, an electroconductive substrate, and a layered semiconductor photoelectrode element means between and in contact with the electrocatalytic layer and the electroconductive substrate, and wherein the anode and the cathode are electrically connected to each other through an unbiased circuit.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed is a photolytic device comprising a photoelectrode having a plurality of stacked, individual photoelectric or photovoltaic elements between a substrate and an electrode, a counterelectrode which may be a separate spaced counterelectrode or the substrate, and an unbiased external circuit. Also disclosed is a method of forming hydrogen using the photolytic device.
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Citations
72 Claims
- 1. In a method of photolytic production of hydrogen in a photolytic device comprising maintaining an aqueous electrolyte in contact with an anode and a cathode, one of said anode and cathode being a photoelectrode, illuminating the photoelectrode, evolving hydrogen at the cathode and a co-product at the anode, the improvement wherein said photoelectrode comprises a substantially transparent, electrolyte resistance electrocatalytic layer, an electroconductive substrate, and a layered semiconductor photoelectrode element means between and in contact with the electrocatalytic layer and the electroconductive substrate, and wherein the anode and the cathode are electrically connected to each other through an unbiased circuit.
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39. A photolytic device coprising:
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(a.) a photoelectrode comprising; (1.) an electrocatalytic surface substantially resistant to aqueous halide solutions and substantially transparent; (2.) an electrically conductive substrate; and (3.) a plurality of layered, individual semiconductor photoelectric element means between and in contact with the electrocatalytic layer and the electrically conductive substrate; (b.) a substantially non photoactive, electrolyte resistant counter electrode electrically in circuit with the photoelectrode through an unbiased circuit; and (c.) means for maintaining a aqueous electrolyte in contact with the counter electrode and the photoelectrode. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71)
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Specification