Integration of functional modules in a unified photoelectrochemical device for highly efficient solar-driven cathodic metal protection

The ever-increasing energy consumption stimulated the development of various solar energy conversion systems. Photocathodic protection (PCP), emerges as a promising photoelectrochemical technology to alleviate metal corrosion, but the centralization of all core reaction steps on one photoelectric-conversion-unit induces extremely low energy conversion efficiencies. Herein, a proof-of-concept modular PCP device incorporating electron transport layer (ETL), photoelectric conversion layer (PCL), hole transport layer (HTL) and hole consumption layer (HCL) is fabricated to delocalize the key reaction steps for the first time. Such a unified ETL/PCL/HTL/HCL architecture facilitates the efficient extraction of photoexcited electrons from the small-gap PCL to the protected metal through ETL, and holes to HCL for water oxidization through HTL. The directional “macroscopic” charge migration, prolonged charge lifetime and accelerated water oxidation lead to significantly improved PCP effectiveness in simulated seawater. Our findings provide a groundbreaking PCP design, allowing fine-tuning individual functional modules and inter-modular interfaces to vastly elevate performance. [Display omitted] •A photocathodic protection system with multi-module architecture was fabricated.•The key photoelectrochemical reaction steps were delocalized to separate modules.•The directional charge flow was maintained through the whole unified device.•Vastly improved energy conversion efficiency than conventional design was achieved.•A groundbreaking design strategy for photocathodic protection systems is provided.