Energizing tomorrow: The potential of light-driven supercapacitors in future applications

Photo-assisted energy harvesting plays a crucial role in present research and future scenario in the field of technology advancements towards efficient energy utilization. Modern world sees an opportunity in developing such technologies which are self-powered, self-driven and self-healing that can be utilized in the fields including portable, wearable electronics, internet of things (IOT) devices, electric vehicles, space applications, renewable energy systems, and smart grid applications. The present review gives an insight to the aspects in the present and future developmental goals in the field of light driven supercapacitors (LDS). Such systems comprise of active components viz. layer material selection in the solar cell and supercapacitors. A comprehensive study to achieve high absorption, power/energy density and efficient storage of absorbed energy has been discussed. The major factors for device design and mechanism adopted for efficient photo conversion and their subsequent storage as LDS depends on efficient light intensity source, surface area, optimization of the structure of electrodes, electrode selection, charge separation efficiency etc. A comprehensive analysis of the previously developed LDS with their optimized parameters has been presented. Various challenges viz. material selection, compatibility of layers, lower photovoltaic conversion and increased resistivity on integrating the energy conversion and storage module has also been discussed. In order to achieve high-performance LDS and to enhance their practicality various steps are suggested for the future development of LDS at industry and commercial scale.