EES Blog

Reviews and Perspectives

FREE: Photosensitized electron transfer processes of nanocarbons applicable to solar cells
Francis D’Souza and Osamu Ito
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C1CS15201G, Tutorial Review

FREE: Novel nanostructures for next generation dye-sensitized solar cells
Nicolas Tétreault and Michael Grätzel
Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2EE03242B, Perspective

FREE: Porphyrin-sensitized solar cells
Lu-Lin Li and Eric Wei-Guang Diau
Chem. Soc. Rev, 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C2CS35257E, Review Article

FREE: Carbon nanotube-based heterostructures for solar energy applications
Lei Wang, Haiqing Liu, Robert M. Konik, James A. Misewich and Stanislaus S. Wong
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3CS60088B, Review Article

FREE: Semiconductor nanowires: a platform for exploring limits and concepts for nano-enabled solar cells
Thomas J. Kempa, Robert W. Day, Sun-Kyung Kim, Hong-Gyu Park and Charles M. Lieber
Energy Environ. Sci., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3EE24182C, Review Article

FREE: Efficient photon management with nanostructures for photovoltaics
Bo Hua, Qingfeng Lin, Qianpeng Zhang and Zhiyong Fan
Nanoscale, 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3NR01152F, Review Article

FREE: Plasmonic photocatalysts: harvesting visible light with noble metal nanoparticles
Peng Wang, Baibiao Huang, Ying Dai and Myung-Hwan Whangbo
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2CP40823F, Perspective

FREE: Improvement of dye-sensitized solar cells toward the broader light harvesting of the solar spectrum
Suresh Kannan Balasingam, Minoh Lee, Man Gu Kang and Yongseok Jun
Chem. Commun., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C2CC37616D, Feature Article

FREE: Nanostructured Titania: the current and future promise of Titania nanotubes
Kevin C. Schwartzenberg and Kimberly A. Gray
Catal. Sci. Technol., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2CY00538G, Perspective

That’s not all! Go to the bottom of this post to view more Reviews and Perspectives in this collection…

Original Research Articles

FREE: Low-temperature processed meso-superstructured to thin-film perovskite solar cells
James M. Ball, Michael M. Lee, Andrew Hey and Henry J. Snaith
Energy Environ. Sci., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3EE40810H, Communication

FREE: Tridentate cobalt complexes as alternative redox couples for high-efficiency dye-sensitized solar cells
Kais Ben Aribia, Thomas Moehl, Shaik M. Zakeeruddin and Michael Grätzel
Chem. Sci., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C2SC21401F, Edge Article

FREE: Spirally configured cis-stilbene/fluorene hybrids as bipolar, organic sensitizers for solar cell applications
Wei-Shan Chao, Ken-Hsien Liao, Chien-Tien Chen, Wei-Kai Huang, Chi-Ming Lan and Eric Wei-Guang Diau
Chem. Commun., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2CC17079E, Communication

FREE: An ester-functionalized diketopyrrolopyrrole molecule with appropriate energy levels for application in solution-processed organic solar cells
Meirong Chen, Weifei Fu, Minmin Shi, Xiaolian Hu, Junying Pan, Jun Ling, Hangying Li and Hongzheng Chen
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C2TA00148A, Paper

FREE: An isoindigo and dithieno[3,2-b:2′,3′-d]silole copolymer for polymer solar cells
Romain Stalder, Caroline Grand, Jegadesan Subbiah, Franky So and John R. ReynoldsPolym. Chem., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C1PY00402F, Communication

FREE: Photoelectrical properties of Ag₂S quantum dot-modified TiO₂ nanorod arrays and their application for photovoltaic devices
Bingkun Liu, Dejun Wang, Yu Zhang, Haimei Fan, Yanhong Lin, Tengfei Jiang and Tengfeng XieDalton Trans., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C2DT32031B, Paper

Again, you can see more original research articles in this collection at the bottom of this page.

You might be interested in these e-books from RSC Publishing…
(PDFs of the front matter, table of contents and first chapter are free to view.)

Building Integrated Photovoltaic Thermal Systems
Authors: Basant Agrawal, Gopal Nath Tiwari

Fundamentals of Photovoltaic Modules and Their Applications
Authors: Gopal Nath Tiwari, Swapnil Dubey

Also take a look at these exciting related themed issues, themed collections and Editor’s Choice selections…

Photocatalysis
Themed issue in Catalysis Science & Technology
Guest Editors: Kazunari Domen and Licheng Sun

Inorganic photophysics and photochemistry –Fundamentals and applications –
Themed issue in Dalton Transactions
Guest Editors: Michael D. Ward and Julia Weinstein

Nanomaterials for energy conversion and storage
Themed issue in Journal of Materials Chemistry
Guest Editors: K. Kalyanasundaram and Michael Grätzel

Editor’s Choice: Photovoltaic devices by Henry Snaith

Editor’s choice: Nanostructured polymer and dye-sensitized solar cells by Zhiqun Lin

Editor’s Choice: All-organic and hybrid photovoltaics by Chris McNeill

Click here to view more articles in this collection…

Some books on solar fuels…

Advanced Renewable Energy Sources
Authors: Gopal Nath Tiwari and Rajeev Kumar Mishra

Solar Energy Conversion
Editor: Piotr Piotrowiak

Energy Issues
A set of four books on energy from the Issues in Environmental Science and Technology Series, edited by Roy Harrison and Ron Hester

The PDFs of the front matter, table of contents and first chapter of these e-books are free to view…

Solar Hydrogen: Fuel of the Future
Authors: Mario Pagliaro, Athanasios G Konstandopoulos

Molecular Solar Fuels
Editors: Thomas J Wydrzynski, Warwick Hillier

Related themed issues and web collections

These themed collections might be of interest. Have a look…

Solar Fuels themed issue in Chemical Society Reviews (Chem. Soc. Rev., 2013, Issue 5).
Find more information in the excellent Editorial by Siddharth Dasgupta, Bruce S. Brunschwig, Jay R. Winkler and Harry B. Gray.

Recent Advances in Solar Energy Conversion and Utilization
This is a themed issue containing articles from the journals Energy & Environmental Science, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics (PCCP) and RSC Advances, and guest edited by Ranjit Koodali and Velu Subramani.

A centenary for solar fuels
This is an online collection put together in celebration of 100 years since Ciamician’s landmark paper, ‘The Photochemistry of the Future’.

Opinions and Analysis

Artificial photosynthesis as a frontier technology for energy sustainability
Thomas Faunce, Stenbjorn Styring, Michael R. Wasielewski, Gary W. Brudvig, A. William Rutherford, Johannes Messinger, Adam F. Lee, Craig L. Hill, Huub deGroot, Marc Fontecave, Doug R. MacFarlane, Ben Hankamer, Daniel G. Nocera, David M. Tiede, Holger Dau, Warwick Hillier, Lianzhou Wang and Rose Amal
Energy Environ. Sci., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3EE40534F, Opinion

Energy and environment policy case for a global project on artificial photosynthesis
Thomas A. Faunce, Wolfgang Lubitz, A. W. (Bill) Rutherford, Douglas MacFarlane, Gary F. Moore, Peidong Yang, Daniel G. Nocera, Tom A. Moore, Duncan H. Gregory, Shunichi Fukuzumi, Kyung Byung Yoon, Fraser A. Armstrong, Michael R. Wasielewski and Stenbjorn Styring
Energy Environ. Sci., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3EE00063J, Opinion

Technical and economic feasibility of centralized facilities for solar hydrogen production via photocatalysis and photoelectrochemistry
Blaise A. Pinaud, Jesse D. Benck, Linsey C. Seitz, Arnold J. Forman, Zhebo Chen, Todd G. Deutsch, Brian D. James, Kevin N. Baum, George N. Baum, Shane Ardo, Heli Wang, Eric Miller and Thomas F. Jaramillo
Energy Environ. Sci., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3EE40831K, Analysis

Tutorial Reviews

Comparison of primary oxidants for water-oxidation catalysis
Alexander R. Parent, Robert H. Crabtree and Gary W. Brudvig
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C2CS35225G

Organic molecules as mediators and catalysts for photocatalytic and electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction
Yeonji Oh and Xile Hu
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C2CS35276A

Reviews, Perspectives, Applications and Frontiers

“In rust we trust”. Hematite – the prospective inorganic backbone for artificial photosynthesis
Debajeet K. Bora, Artur Braun and Edwin C. Constable
Energy Environ. Sci., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C2EE23668K, Perspective

Long-lived charge separated states in nanostructured semiconductor photoelectrodes for the production of solar fuels
Alexander J. Cowan and James R. Durrant
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C2CS35305A, Review

Functional mesoporous materials for energy applications: solar cells, fuel cells, and batteries
Youngjin Ye, Changshin Jo, Inyoung Jeong and Jinwoo Lee
Nanoscale, 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3NR00176H, Feature Article

Molecular systems for light driven hydrogen production
William T. Eckenhoff and Richard Eisenberg
Dalton Trans., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2DT30823A, Perspective

Understanding photosynthetic light-harvesting: a bottom up theoretical approach
Thomas Renger and Frank Müh 
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3CP43439G, Perspective

Applications of metal oxide materials in dye sensitized photoelectrosynthesis cells for making solar fuels: let the molecules do the work
Leila Alibabaei, Hanlin Luo, Ralph L. House, Paul G. Hoertz, Rene Lopez and Thomas J. Meyer
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C2TA00935H, Application

Splitting water with rust: hematite photoelectrochemistry
Thomas W. Hamann
Dalton Trans., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2DT30340J, Frontier

Metal sulphide semiconductors for photocatalytic hydrogen production
Kai Zhang and Liejin Guo
Catal. Sci. Technol., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3CY00018D, Minireview

Water oxidation catalysed by manganese compounds: from complexes to ‘biomimetic rocks’
Mathias Wiechen, Hans-Martin Berends and Philipp Kurz
Dalton Trans., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C1DT11537E, Perspective

Bio-inspired artificial light-harvesting antennas for enhancement of solar energy capture in dye-sensitized solar cells
Fabrice Odobel, Yann Pellegrin and Julien Warnan
Energy Environ. Sci., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3EE24229C, Perspective

Original Research Articles

Novel nanographene/porphyrin hybrids – preparation, characterization, and application in solar energy conversion schemes
Daniel Kiessling, Rubén D. Costa, Georgios Katsukis, Jenny Malig, Fabian Lodermeyer, Sebastian Feihl, Alexandra Roth, Leonie Wibmer, Matthias Kehrer, Michel Volland, Pawel Wagner, Gordon G. Wallace, David L. Officer and Dirk M. Guldi
Chem. Sci., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3SC51026C, Edge Article

Oxygen-tolerant coenzyme A-acylating aldehyde dehydrogenase facilitates efficient photosynthetic n-butanol biosynthesis in cyanobacteria
Ethan I. Lan, Soo Y. Ro and James C. Liao
Energy Environ. Sci., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3EE41405A, Paper

3D branched nanowire heterojunction photoelectrodes for high-efficiency solar water splitting and H₂ generation
Ke Sun, Yi Jing, Chun Li, Xiaofeng Zhang, Ryan Aguinaldo, Alireza Kargar, Kristian Madsen, Khaleda Banu, Yuchun Zhou, Yoshio Bando, Zhaowei Liu and Deli Wang
Nanoscale, 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2NR11952H, Paper

Photon upconversion facilitated molecular solar energy storage
Karl Börjesson, Damir Dzebo, Bo Albinsson and Kasper Moth-Poulsen
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3TA12002C, Communication

High photo-electrochemical activity of thylakoid–carbon nanotube composites for photosynthetic energy conversion
Jessica O. Calkins, Yogeswaran Umasankar, Hugh O’Neill and Ramaraja P. Ramasamy
Energy Environ. Sci., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3EE40634B, Paper

A model for efficient, semiconductor-free solar cells via supersensitized electron transfer cascades in photogalvanic devices
Jonathan E. Halls and Jay D. Wadhawan
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3CP00072A, Paper

Generation of fuel from CO₂ saturated liquids using a p-Si nanowire ‖ n-TiO₂ nanotube array photoelectrochemical cell
Thomas J. LaTempa, Sanju Rani, Ningzhong Bao and Craig A. Grimes
Nanoscale, 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2NR00052K, Communication

Bicrystalline TiO₂ with controllable anatase–brookite phase content for enhanced CO₂ photoreduction to fuels
Huilei Zhao, Lianjun Liu, Jean M. Andino and Ying Li
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3TA11226H, Paper

Diatom frustules as light traps enhance DSSC efficiency
Jeremiah Toster, K. Swaminathan Iyer, Wanchun Xiang, Federico Rosei, Leone Spiccia and Colin L. Raston
Nanoscale, 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C2NR32716C, Communication

Stabilizing inorganic photoelectrodes for efficient solar-to-chemical energy conversion
Syed Mubeen, Joun Lee, Nirala Singh, Martin Moskovits and Eric W. McFarland
Energy Environ. Sci., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3EE40258D, Paper

Ternary Ti–Mo–Ni mixed oxide nanotube arrays as photoanode materials for efficient solar hydrogen production
Nageh K. Allam, Nourhan M. Deyab and Nabil Abdel Ghany
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3CP52076E, Paper

Transition metal oxide alloys as potential solar energy conversion materials
Maytal Caspary Toroker and Emily A. Carter
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C2TA00816E, Paper

Integrated microfluidic test-bed for energy conversion devices
Miguel A. Modestino, Camilo A. Diaz-Botia, Sophia Haussener, Rafael Gomez-Sjoberg, Joel W. Ager and Rachel A. Segalman
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3CP51302E, Communication

Photocatalytic conversion of CO₂ and H₂O to fuels by nanostructured Ce-TiO₂/SBA-15 composites
Cunyu Zhao, Lianjun Liu, Qianyi Zhang, Jun Wang and Ying Li
Catal. Sci. Technol., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2CY20346D, Paper

Composite plasmonic gold/layered double hydroxides and derived mixed oxides as novel photocatalysts for hydrogen generation under solar irradiation
Gabriela Carja, Mihaela Birsanu, Kiyoshi Okada and Hermenegildo Garcia
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013,1,DOI: 10.1039/C3TA11569K, Paper

Binary ionic porphyrin nanosheets: electronic and light-harvesting properties regulated by crystal structure
Yongming Tian, Christine M. Beavers, Tito Busani, Kathleen E. Martin, John L. Jacobsen, Brandon Q. Mercado, Brian S. Swartzentruber, Frank van Swol, Craig J. Medforth and John A. Shelnutt
Nanoscale, 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2NR11826B, Paper

Biomimetic photocatalytic reactor with a hydrogel-embedded microfluidic network
Hyung-Jun Koo and Orlin D. Velev
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3TA12483E, Communication

Take a look at this week’s selection…

Ni3S2 nanorods/Ni foam composite electrode with low overpotential for electrocatalytic oxygen evolution
Weijia Zhou, Xue-Jun Wu, Xiehong Cao, Xiao Huang, Chaoliang Tan, Jian Tian, Hong Liu, Jiyang Wang and Hua Zhang
DOI: 10.1039/C3EE41572D, Communication

Electrochemistry for biofuel generation: production of furans by electrocatalytic hydrogenation of furfurals
Peter Nilges and Uwe Schröder
DOI: 10.1039/C3EE41857J, Communication

Judicious selection of a pinhole defect filler to generally enhance the performance of organic dye-sensitized solar cells
Min Zhang, Jing Zhang, Ye Fan, Lin Yang, Yinglin Wang, Renzhi Li and Peng Wang
DOI: 10.1039/C3EE42431F, Communication

Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences harvest energy from the environment to achieve a self-powered fluorescence switch system.

Electronically powered response systems are frequently hindered by their external power sources. These external power sources increase the size of the system and make independent and sustainable operation difficult. Focusing on electrical stimuli-responsive fluorescence systems, Bai et al. addressed the problem of system size and sustainability by exploring a switch system based on biofuel cells.

By using the electroactive prussian blue (PB) to control fluorescence change and biocatalysis, the authors were able to build a fluorescence switch system that operates on one biofuel cell. This kind of enzymatic biofuel cell extracts bio-energy from biochemical reactions to produce electricity, meaning the system is fully integrated and requires no external power source. Essentially self-powered, the fluorescent switch system described in a recent EES paper is reversible, reproducible, and power-dense (up to 87 μW/cm2).

The device functions by controlling the redox states of PB with a membrane-less, mediator-less biofuel cell. The fluorescence of the hybrid film is then switched with the absorbance change of the PB. By combining the electrochromatic PB controlling fluorescence switch with the biocatalytic reaction, a functioning self-powered switch system is achieved.

The idea of electronics that can operate by harvesting energy from the environment is certainly exciting. This kind of technology appeals to the imagination and would undoubtedly have huge applications in consumer goods. As someone without a technical background, it is exciting to learn about research with possible game-changing applications for everyday items.

Feeling electrified? Read the full Energy and Environmental Science article here:

Self-powered fluorescence controlled switch systems based on biofuel cells
Lu Bai, Lihua Jin, Lei Han and Shaojun Dong
DOI: 10.1039/C3EE41028E

By Paige Johnson