Documentation

Device level

Thermochemical cycle (TC)

Description A solar-driven thermochemical cycle involves converting solar energy into thermal energy and using this to drive a system of thermochemical reactions to produce fuel. A cycle is required as the thermochemical material undergoes a repeated cycle of multiple steps (e.g. oxidised, reduced).

Attributes

Name	Description	Type	Units
Solar thermal power input (nominal)	The nominal total solar power input to the thermochemical system.	float	NA
Number of redox cycles	Number of full redox cycles completed during the experimental campaign.	float	NA
Total experiment time	The total duration of the experiment. If the illumination is not continuous, this should be noted (e.g. for a chopped light experiment).	float	s min hr day year
Notes	Miscellaneous notes about the component.	text	NA
Solar to fuel efficiency	The ratio of the energy embodied in the amount of fuel produced divided by the amount of solar energy input. What is considered fuel is defined for each device.	float	%
Power of fuel produced	Equivalent power of the fuel production as based on enthalpies of fuel formation.	float	W kW MW
Stability description	A textual description of the stability of the device performance with respect to experimental time, as reported by the authors.	text	NA
Moles of fuel produced in a cycle per unit mass of thermochemical material	The molar amount of fuel produced in a cycle per unit mass of the thermochemical material.	float	NA
Number of simultaneously operating reactors	The number of experimentally-demonstrated and simultaneously-operating reactors undergoing the thermochemical cycle.	float	NA
Nominal light irradiance	The radiant flux received by the photo-active components per unit area. For PEC, this is based on the light on the sample. For TC, this is based on light irradiance at the inlet aperture to the reactor.	float	W m-2 kW m-2 mW cm-2

Components

Tag	Name	Image
sl	Sun light
ssl	Simulated sun light
ow	Optical window
ccl	Custom light
tcr	Thermochemical reactor
oc	Optical concentrator
cin	Input chemical stream
cout	Output chemical stream
dac	Direct Air Capture
cmix	Chemical stream mixer
csplit	Chemical stream split
csep	Chemical stream seperator
react	Chemical reactor

Photo-electrochemical cell (PEC)

Description A photo-electrochemical cell is defined here in the broadest of senses and could range from a true semiconductor-electrolyte interface, or a buried junction type system, or to a photovoltaic junction(s) directly connected to the electrochemical cell.

Attributes

Name	Description	Type	Units
Current (mean)	The mean amount of charge over the duration of experiment per unit time passing through the component.	float	A mA μA
Current vs. time	The amount of charge per unit time passing through the component versus experimental time.	2vectors_float	NA
Current density vs. time	The amount of charge per unit time per unit geometric area of the component versus experimental time.	2vectors_float	NA
Current density	The amount of charge per unit time per unit geometric area of the component	float	A m-2 μA cm-2 mA cm-2
Faradaic efficiency	The overall selectivity of an electrochemical process as defined by the ratio of the charge passed to produce the product relative to the total charge passed.	float	%
Volumetric hydrogen production rate	The nominal volume of hydrogen produced per unit time.	float	NA
Molar hydrogen production rate	The molar production rate of hydrogen.	float	mol s-1
Molar hydrogen production rate vs. time	The molar production rate of hydrogen vs. experimental time.	2vectors_float	NA
Molar hydrogen cumulative production vs. time	The cumulative molar amount of hydrogen produced vs. experimental time.	2vectors_float	NA
Power of fuel produced	Equivalent power of the fuel production as based on enthalpies of fuel formation.	float	W kW MW
Solar to hydrogen efficiency	The ratio of the energy embodied in the amount of hydrogen produced divided by the amount of solar energy input.	float	%
Solar to hydrogen efficiency vs. time	The ratio of the energy embodied in the amount of hydrogen produced divided by the amount of solar energy input versus the experimental time	2vectors_float	NA
Solar to CO efficiency	The ratio of the energy embodied in the amount of carbon monoxide produced divided by the amount of solar energy input.	float	%
Solar to fuel efficiency	The ratio of the energy embodied in the amount of fuel produced divided by the amount of solar energy input. What is considered fuel is defined for each device.	float	%
Co-evolution of products?	A yes/no answer to the question: is there co-evolution of products from the oxidation and reduction reactions? This is commonly determined by if the device has a membrane to separate the anode and cathode.	bool	NA
Stability description	A textual description of the stability of the device performance with respect to experimental time, as reported by the authors.	text	NA
Total experiment time	The total duration of the experiment. If the illumination is not continuous, this should be noted (e.g. for a chopped light experiment).	float	s min hr day year
Notes	Miscellaneous notes about the component.	text	NA
Electrochemical current density (component mean)	The mean electrochemical current density for all components where this is defined as the amount of charge per unit time per unit geometric area for each component.	float	A m-2 μA cm-2 mA cm-2
Photo-current density (component mean)	The mean photo-current density for all components where this is defined as the amount of charge resulting from illumination per unit time per unit geometric area for each component.	float	A m-2 μA cm-2 mA cm-2
Electrochemical area (component mean)	The mean electrochemical area for all components where this is defined as the geometric area of the electrochemical surface for each component.	float	m2 cm2 inch2 mm2
Photo area (component mean)	The mean photo-active area of all the components.	float	m2 cm2 inch2 mm2
Illuminated photoactive area	The total illuminated photo-active area. If areas are illuminated in parallel, it is the summation of areas.	float	m2 cm2 inch2 mm2
Single-pass molar CO2 conversion	The molar conversion of CO2 reduction (defined as CO2RR products out/CO2 in) for a single-pass through.	float	%
Nominal light irradiance	The radiant flux received by the photo-active components per unit area. For PEC, this is based on the light on the sample. For TC, this is based on light irradiance at the inlet aperture to the reactor.	float	W m-2 kW m-2 mW cm-2

Components

Tag	Name	Image
sl	Sun light
ssl	Simulated sun light
ccl	Custom light
a	Anode
c	Cathode
pa	Photo-anode
pc	Photo-cathode
cl	Conductive layer
pj	Photo-junction
el	Electrolyte
elm	Electrolyte membrane
m	Membrane
ow	Optical window
oc	Optical concentrator
cw	Conductive wire
s	Substrate
cin	Input chemical stream
cout	Output chemical stream

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Component level

Custom light (tag : ccl)

Name	Description	Type	Units
Notes	Miscellaneous notes about the component.	text	NA

Thermochemical reactor (tag : tcr)

Name	Description	Type	Units
Pressure	The nominal pressure of the component.	float	NA
Temperature	The nominal temperature of the component	text	NA
Reaction	The symbolic representation of the chemical reaction occurring.	text	NA
Syngas molar ratio	The molar ratio of hydrogen to carbon monoxide (H2:CO).	float	NA
Thermochemical material	The compound(s) that constitute the thermochemically active material at which the cyclic thermochemical reactions occur.	text	NA
Oxygen partial pressure	The oxygen partial pressure in the reactor/component.	float	NA
Mass of thermochemical material	The total nominal mass of the thermochemical material. If the mass changes significantly through the cycle, the specific compound(s) that are considered in the total mass should be noted.	float	kg g mg
Thermochemical cycle time	The time taken for a single complete thermochemical cycle.	float	NA
Thermochemical heating mode	The type of heating (e.g. direct or indirect) mode of the thermochemical material. If the thermochemical material is directly illuminated this is direct heating. If the heat is captured and transferred to the thermochemical material via a heat transfer medium then is is indirect heating.	text	NA
Thermochemical reactor aperture area for light input	The geometric area of the inlet aperture for light.	float	m2 cm2 inch2 mm2
Notes	Miscellaneous notes about the component.	text	NA

Electrolyte membrane (tag : elm)

Name	Description	Type	Units
Material	The substance or mixture of substances that constitutes the component.	text	NA
Geometric area	The geometric area of the component.	float	m2 cm2 inch2 mm2
Steady-state temperature	The steady-state/nominal temperature of the component.	text	NA
Current density	The amount of charge per unit time per unit geometric area of the component	float	A m-2 μA cm-2 mA cm-2
Polymer electrolyte membrane taxonomy	The type of electrolyte membrane (e.g. proton exchange membrane, anion exchange membrane, bipolar membrane).	text	NA
No. of sub-cell repetitions	The number of sub-cells that make up the entire system, if the PEC system is made up of multiple repeating sub-cells.	float	NA
Notes	Miscellaneous notes about the component.	text	NA

Photo-anode (tag : pa)

Name	Description	Type	Units
Material	The substance or mixture of substances that constitutes the component.	text	NA
Dopant material	The element(s) that constitutes the semiconductor dopant.	text	NA
Photo-absorber material	The substance or mixture of substances that constitutes the photoabsorber.	text	NA
Catalyst material	The substance or mixture of substances that constitutes the catalyst.	text	NA
Geometric area	The geometric area of the component.	float	m2 cm2 inch2 mm2
Bandgap	A fundamental semiconductor property which is defined as the energy difference between the top of the valence band and the bottom of the conduction band.	float	NA
Photo-absorber type	The class of photo-absorber junction (e.g. p-n, p-i-n, bulk hetreo-junction, layered hetero-junction, regenerative PEC solar cell).	text	NA
Thickness	The thickness of the component (defined as the distance normal to the major plane).	float	m km cm mm μm nm ft inch
Notes	Miscellaneous notes about the component.	text	NA
Current density	The amount of charge per unit time per unit geometric area of the component	float	A m-2 μA cm-2 mA cm-2
Sub-cell area	The sub-cell geometric area of the component, if the PEC system is made up of multiple repeating sub-cells.	float	m2 cm2 inch2 mm2
No. of sub-cell repetitions	The number of sub-cells that make up the entire system, if the PEC system is made up of multiple repeating sub-cells.	float	NA
Photo-active material taxonomy	Taxonomy for the photoactive material (e.g. Si, a-Si, MOx, III-V, CIGS, DSSC, CdTe, Perovskite, Organic, Sulfides, Selenides, Tellurides, IV alloy)	text	NA

Membrane (tag : m)

Name	Description	Type	Units
Material	The substance or mixture of substances that constitutes the component.	text	NA
Geometric area	The geometric area of the component.	float	m2 cm2 inch2 mm2
Steady-state temperature	The steady-state/nominal temperature of the component.	text	NA
Notes	Miscellaneous notes about the component.	text	NA

Photo-cathode (tag : pc)

Name	Description	Type	Units
Material	The substance or mixture of substances that constitutes the component.	text	NA
Dopant material	The element(s) that constitutes the semiconductor dopant.	text	NA
Photo-absorber material	The substance or mixture of substances that constitutes the photoabsorber.	text	NA
Catalyst material	The substance or mixture of substances that constitutes the catalyst.	text	NA
Geometric area	The geometric area of the component.	float	m2 cm2 inch2 mm2
Bandgap	A fundamental semiconductor property which is defined as the energy difference between the top of the valence band and the bottom of the conduction band.	float	NA
Photo-absorber type	The class of photo-absorber junction (e.g. p-n, p-i-n, bulk hetreo-junction, layered hetero-junction, regenerative PEC solar cell).	text	NA
Thickness	The thickness of the component (defined as the distance normal to the major plane).	float	m km cm mm μm nm ft inch
Notes	Miscellaneous notes about the component.	text	NA
Current density	The amount of charge per unit time per unit geometric area of the component	float	A m-2 μA cm-2 mA cm-2
Sub-cell area	The sub-cell geometric area of the component, if the PEC system is made up of multiple repeating sub-cells.	float	m2 cm2 inch2 mm2
No. of sub-cell repetitions	The number of sub-cells that make up the entire system, if the PEC system is made up of multiple repeating sub-cells.	float	NA
Photo-active material taxonomy	Taxonomy for the photoactive material (e.g. Si, a-Si, MOx, III-V, CIGS, DSSC, CdTe, Perovskite, Organic, Sulfides, Selenides, Tellurides, IV alloy)	text	NA

Anode (tag : a)

Name	Description	Type	Units
Material	The substance or mixture of substances that constitutes the component.	text	NA
Geometric area	The geometric area of the component.	float	m2 cm2 inch2 mm2
Half-reaction	The symbolic representation of a electrochemical reaction occurring at the electrode.	text	NA
Steady-state temperature	The steady-state/nominal temperature of the component.	text	NA
Steady-state pressure	The steady-state/nominal pressure of the component.	float	NA
Notes	Miscellaneous notes about the component.	text	NA
Current density	The amount of charge per unit time per unit geometric area of the component	float	A m-2 μA cm-2 mA cm-2
Sub-cell area	The sub-cell geometric area of the component, if the PEC system is made up of multiple repeating sub-cells.	float	m2 cm2 inch2 mm2
No. of sub-cell repetitions	The number of sub-cells that make up the entire system, if the PEC system is made up of multiple repeating sub-cells.	float	NA

Sun light (tag : sl)

Name	Description	Type	Units
Geometric area	The geometric area of the component.	float	m2 cm2 inch2 mm2
Experimental light flux	The experimental light irradiance which is the radiant flux received by a surface per unit area.	float	W m-2 kW m-2 mW cm-2
Total radiant flux	The total radiant flux defined as the total power of the light falling on the active area of the device.	float	NA
Notes	Miscellaneous notes about the component.	text	NA

Chemical reactor (tag : react)

Name	Description	Type	Units
Temperature	The nominal temperature of the component	text	NA
Pressure	The nominal pressure of the component.	float	NA
Catalyst material	The substance or mixture of substances that constitutes the catalyst.	text	NA
Single-pass molar conversion	The molar conversion of the reaction (defined as product out/reactant in) for a single-pass through the reactor.	float	%
Total molar conversion	The overall molar conversion of the reaction (defined as product out/reactant in) considering the recycled stream(s) passing back again through the reactor.	float	NA
Notes	Miscellaneous notes about the component.	text	NA

Chemical stream seperator (tag : csep)

Name	Description	Type	Units
Notes	Miscellaneous notes about the component.	text	NA

Cathode (tag : c)

Name	Description	Type	Units
Material	The substance or mixture of substances that constitutes the component.	text	NA
Geometric area	The geometric area of the component.	float	m2 cm2 inch2 mm2
Half-reaction	The symbolic representation of a electrochemical reaction occurring at the electrode.	text	NA
Steady-state temperature	The steady-state/nominal temperature of the component.	text	NA
Steady-state pressure	The steady-state/nominal pressure of the component.	float	NA
Notes	Miscellaneous notes about the component.	text	NA
Current density	The amount of charge per unit time per unit geometric area of the component	float	A m-2 μA cm-2 mA cm-2
Sub-cell area	The sub-cell geometric area of the component, if the PEC system is made up of multiple repeating sub-cells.	float	m2 cm2 inch2 mm2
No. of sub-cell repetitions	The number of sub-cells that make up the entire system, if the PEC system is made up of multiple repeating sub-cells.	float	NA

Electrolyte (tag : el)

Name	Description	Type	Units
Material	The substance or mixture of substances that constitutes the component.	text	NA
Electrolyte composition	The substance(s) which constitute the electrolyte solution.	text	NA
Steady-state temperature	The steady-state/nominal temperature of the component.	text	NA
pH	The logarithmic scale used to specify the acidity or alkalinity of an aqueous solution.	float	NA
Notes	Miscellaneous notes about the component.	text	NA

Optical concentrator (tag : oc)

Name	Description	Type	Units
Material	The substance or mixture of substances that constitutes the component.	text	NA
Input area	The input area for light collection of the optical concentrator.	float	m2 cm2 inch2 mm2
Output area	The output area after light concentration by the optical concentrator.	float	m2 cm2 inch2 mm2
Experimental light flux	The experimental light irradiance which is the radiant flux received by a surface per unit area.	float	W m-2 kW m-2 mW cm-2
Optical path length	The optical path length across the component (e.g. the thickness of the optical window etc.).	float	m km cm mm μm nm ft inch
Optical efficiency	The energetic efficiency of optical concentration of the light.	float	%
Optical concentrator type	The type of optical concentrator (e.g. reflective, refractive, hybrid, luminescent)	text	NA
Optical concentration factor	The optical concentration ratio (or flux concentration ratio) is the ratio between the average flux over the receiver and the flux over the aperture of the optical concentrator.	float	NA
Geometric concentration factor	The geometric concentration factor is the ratio between the aperture area and the receiver area.	float	NA
Notes	Miscellaneous notes about the component.	text	NA

Photo-junction (tag : pj)

Name	Description	Type	Units
Material	The substance or mixture of substances that constitutes the component.	text	NA
Geometric area	The geometric area of the component.	float	m2 cm2 inch2 mm2
Bandgap	A fundamental semiconductor property which is defined as the energy difference between the top of the valence band and the bottom of the conduction band.	float	NA
Steady-state temperature	The steady-state/nominal temperature of the component.	text	NA
Photo-absorber type	The class of photo-absorber junction (e.g. p-n, p-i-n, bulk hetreo-junction, layered hetero-junction, regenerative PEC solar cell).	text	NA
Notes	Miscellaneous notes about the component.	text	NA
Current density	The amount of charge per unit time per unit geometric area of the component	float	A m-2 μA cm-2 mA cm-2
Sub-cell area	The sub-cell geometric area of the component, if the PEC system is made up of multiple repeating sub-cells.	float	m2 cm2 inch2 mm2
No. of sub-cell repetitions	The number of sub-cells that make up the entire system, if the PEC system is made up of multiple repeating sub-cells.	float	NA
Photo-active material taxonomy	Taxonomy for the photoactive material (e.g. Si, a-Si, MOx, III-V, CIGS, DSSC, CdTe, Perovskite, Organic, Sulfides, Selenides, Tellurides, IV alloy)	text	NA

Chemical stream mixer (tag : cmix)

Name	Description	Type	Units
Notes	Miscellaneous notes about the component.	text	NA

Chemical stream split (tag : csplit)

Name	Description	Type	Units
Notes	Miscellaneous notes about the component.	text	NA

Direct Air Capture (tag : dac)

Name	Description	Type	Units
Notes	Miscellaneous notes about the component.	text	NA

Substrate (tag : s)

Name	Description	Type	Units
Material	The substance or mixture of substances that constitutes the component.	text	NA
Optical path length	The optical path length across the component (e.g. the thickness of the optical window etc.).	float	m km cm mm μm nm ft inch
Thickness	The thickness of the component (defined as the distance normal to the major plane).	float	m km cm mm μm nm ft inch
Notes	Miscellaneous notes about the component.	text	NA

Output chemical stream (tag : cout)

Name	Description	Type	Units
Chemical composition	The substance(s) which constitute the input/output stream.	text	NA
Notes	Miscellaneous notes about the component.	text	NA
Chemical molar fraction	The molar amount of a constituent, divided by the total molar amount of all constituents in the mixture.	text	%
Chemical volume fraction	The partial volume of a constituent, divided by the total volume of the mixture of all constituents.	text	%
Cumulative total volume	The total volume of the stream over the entire duration of the experiment.	float	L mL cm3 m3
Cumulative total mass	The total mass of the stream over the entire duration of the experiment.	float	kg g mg
Cumulative total moles	The total molar amount of the stream over the entire duration of the experiment.	float	mol mmol μmol
Cumulative component volume	The total partial volume of the components of the stream over the entire duration of the experiment.	text	NA
Total volumetric flowrate	The total volume of the components transported in the stream per unit time.	float	NA
Component volumetric flowrate	The partial volumetric amount of the components transported in the stream per unit time.	text	NA
Component molar flowrate	The molar amount of the components transported in the stream per unit time.	text	mol s-1

Input chemical stream (tag : cin)

Name	Description	Type	Units
Chemical composition	The substance(s) which constitute the input/output stream.	text	NA
Notes	Miscellaneous notes about the component.	text	NA
Chemical molar fraction	The molar amount of a constituent, divided by the total molar amount of all constituents in the mixture.	text	%
Chemical volume fraction	The partial volume of a constituent, divided by the total volume of the mixture of all constituents.	text	%
Cumulative total volume	The total volume of the stream over the entire duration of the experiment.	float	L mL cm3 m3
Cumulative total mass	The total mass of the stream over the entire duration of the experiment.	float	kg g mg
Cumulative total moles	The total molar amount of the stream over the entire duration of the experiment.	float	mol mmol μmol
Cumulative component volume	The total partial volume of the components of the stream over the entire duration of the experiment.	text	NA
Total volumetric flowrate	The total volume of the components transported in the stream per unit time.	float	NA
Component volumetric flowrate	The partial volumetric amount of the components transported in the stream per unit time.	text	NA
Component molar flowrate	The molar amount of the components transported in the stream per unit time.	text	mol s-1

Simulated sun light (tag : ssl)

Name	Description	Type	Units
Type of spectra and lamp	The type of lamp, electrical power and the spectrum it is calibrated for (e.g. global standard spectrum - AM1.5G)	text	NA
Spectral irradiance	The irradiance (flux density per unit area) of a surface per unit wavelength	2vectors_float	NA
Experimental light flux	The experimental light irradiance which is the radiant flux received by a surface per unit area.	float	W m-2 kW m-2 mW cm-2
Total radiant flux	The total radiant flux defined as the total power of the light falling on the active area of the device.	float	NA
Notes	Miscellaneous notes about the component.	text	NA

Conductive layer (tag : cl)

Name	Description	Type	Units
Material	The substance or mixture of substances that constitutes the component.	text	NA
Geometric area	The geometric area of the component.	float	m2 cm2 inch2 mm2
Optical path length	The optical path length across the component (e.g. the thickness of the optical window etc.).	float	m km cm mm μm nm ft inch
Thickness	The thickness of the component (defined as the distance normal to the major plane).	float	m km cm mm μm nm ft inch
Notes	Miscellaneous notes about the component.	text	NA

Conductive wire (tag : cw)

Name	Description	Type	Units
Material	The substance or mixture of substances that constitutes the component.	text	NA
Notes	Miscellaneous notes about the component.	text	NA

Optical window (tag : ow)

Name	Description	Type	Units
Material	The substance or mixture of substances that constitutes the component.	text	NA
Geometric area	The geometric area of the component.	float	m2 cm2 inch2 mm2
Optical path length	The optical path length across the component (e.g. the thickness of the optical window etc.).	float	m km cm mm μm nm ft inch
Notes	Miscellaneous notes about the component.	text	NA