Issue 33, 2016

Kerf loss silicon as a cost-effective, high-efficiency, and convenient energy carrier: additive-mediated rapid hydrogen production and integrated systems for electricity generation and hydrogen storage

Abstract

Base-catalyzed chemical etching of silicon in water can produce hydrogen and dissociated orthosilicic acid (SiO2(OH)22−), suggesting that silicon can be regarded as an energy carrier. However, this process needs a large amount of low-priced silicon as the essential reactive material for cost saving and faster and high-yield hydrogen production agreeable for industrialization. In this study, high-performance hydrogen production through wet chemical etching of micrometer-sized kerf loss silicon recovered from the sawing process of solar-grade wafers is reported. Additives, including sodium metasilicate (Na2SiO3) and metasilicic acid (H2SiO3), were employed to accelerate the water splitting reaction, resulting in an optimized hydrogen production rate of 4.72 × 10−3 g(H2) per s per g(Si) and a yield of 92% that ranks as the best performance in the reported literature on a micrometer-sized silicon basis. In addition, a proof-of-concept example showing that kerf loss silicon is a convenient energy carrier was conducted using a kerf loss silicon-based hydrogen production reactor in coordination with either a fuel cell, which converted the supplied hydrogen to electricity, or a high-pressure tank for hydrogen storage.

Graphical abstract: Kerf loss silicon as a cost-effective, high-efficiency, and convenient energy carrier: additive-mediated rapid hydrogen production and integrated systems for electricity generation and hydrogen storage

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
02 May 2016
Accepted
18 Jul 2016
First published
19 Jul 2016

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2016,4, 12921-12928

Kerf loss silicon as a cost-effective, high-efficiency, and convenient energy carrier: additive-mediated rapid hydrogen production and integrated systems for electricity generation and hydrogen storage

T. Kao, W. Huang and H. Tuan, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2016, 4, 12921 DOI: 10.1039/C6TA03657K

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