"New Directions for Electricity and Fuels from Sunlight

Date:
29
Tuesday
October
2019
Lecture / Seminar
Time: 11:00-12:30
Title: Prof.Israel Rubinstein Memorial Lecture
Location: Gerhard M.J. Schmidt Lecture Hall
Lecturer: Prof. Harry Atwater
Organizer: Department of Molecular Chemistry and Materials Science
Details: Howard Hughes Professor and Professor of Applied Physics and Materials Science ... Read more Howard Hughes Professor and Professor of Applied Physics and Materials Science Director, Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis California Institute of Technology
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Abstract: The recent rapid, global growth of photovoltaics has moved scientific research f ... Read more The recent rapid, global growth of photovoltaics has moved scientific research frontiers for solar energy conversion towards new opportunities including i) ultrahigh efficiency photovoltaics (η > 30%) and ii) direct synthesis of energy-dense chemical fuels from sunlight, including hydrogen and products from reduction of carbon dioxide. I will illustrate several examples of how design of materials for light harvesting, charge transport and catalytic selectivity can enable advances in electricity and fuel synthesis. Photonic design has opened new directions for high efficiency photovoltaics and luminescent solar concentrators. Semiconductors coupled to water oxidation and reduction catalysts have enabled approaches to photoelectrochemical solar-to-hydrogen generation with >19% efficiency using artificial photosynthetic structures. Solar-driven reduction of carbon dioxide presents both an enormous opportunity and challenge because of the need for selectivity in generating useful multi-carbon products by multiple electron and multi-proton transfer steps. Present work and future directions in selective photocatalytic and photo-electrocatalytic materials for artificial photosynthesis aimed at catalytic reduction of carbon dioxide will be discussed.
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