DOI: https://doi.org/10.14710/ijred.8.2.169-178

Evaluating the materials used for hydrogen production based on photoelectrochemical technology

Department of Renewable Energies and Environmental, Faculty of New Sciences and Technologies, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran, Islamic Republic of

Received: 12 Feb 2019; Revised: 18 Apr 2019; Accepted: 25 Apr 2019; Available online: 15 Jul 2019; Published: 13 Jun 2019.
Editor(s): H Hadiyanto
Open Access Copyright (c) 2019 The Authors. Published by Centre of Biomass and Renewable Energy (CBIORE)
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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Abstract

Hydrogen as a CO2-free fuel has been considered as a serious alternative for problematic fossil fuels in recent decades Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is a developing solar-based technology for hydrogen production. In this study, some possible options for upgrading this technology from R&D stage to prototype stage through a material selection approach is investigated. For these purpose, TOPSIS algorithm through a multi criteria decision making (MCDM) approach was utilized for evaluating different (PEC)-based hydrogen production materials. TiO2, WO3 and BiVO4 as three semiconductors known for their PEC application, were selected as alternatives in this decision-making study. After defining a set of criteria, which were assessed based on similar studies and experts' visions, a group of ten PEC-experts including university professors and PhD students were asked to fill the questionnaires. The eight criteria considered in this study are include "Study Cost", "Synthesis Simplicity", "Facility & Availability", "Deposition capability on TCO", "Modifiability", "Commercialization in H2 production", "Physical and Chemical Durability" and "Eco-friendly Fabrication". The final TOPSIS results indicates that TiO2 is selected as the best semiconductor for further investments in order to upgrade the PEC-based hydrogen production technology from R&D level to prototype stage. ©2019. CBIORE-IJRED. All rights reserved

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Keywords: MCDM; TOPSIS; Hydrogen generation; PEC; Semiconductor
Funding: University of Tehran

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Section: Original Research Article
Language : EN
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