Solar-driven chemistry: towards new catalytic solutions for a sustainable world

Abstract

The topic of production of useful chemical compounds with the help of solar light has been debated at a recent meeting organized in Rome on October 18 and 19, 2018, by the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. Some of the contributions presented at this event are collected in this special issue of the Rendiconti Lincei. Scienze fisiche e Naturali. In this paper, we briefly discuss some recent results concerning the use of solar energy by artificial photochemical reactions for four important applications: (i) conversion of solar energy into fuels or (ii) conversion of sunlight into electrical energy, (iii) use of solar energy to perform organic synthesis that cannot be obtained by conventional chemistry, and (iv) photochemical reactions to reduce pollution.

Recent Progresses on Metal Halide Perovskite-Based Material as Potential Photocatalyst

“…Thus, addressing the problems of the depletion of fossil fuels and global warming appears to be an urgent task, and the search for valid approaches to maintaining the atmospheric CO 2 level has become fundamental and urgent [159,160]. Artificial-based photocatalytic processes, supported by globally available and inexhaustible solar-light energy, have attracted particular attention as regards the conversion of CO 2 to solar fuels [161]. In this scenario, the remarkable optical and electrochemical properties of MHPs may represent a pivotal advantage for their success as high-efficiency solar energy-based photocatalysts [162].…”

Recent Developments in the Use of Heterogeneous Semiconductor Photocatalyst Based Materials for a Visible-Light-Induced Water-Splitting System—A Brief Review

“…However, the forthcoming use of solar energy as a major source to satisfy the worldwide requirements depends on accomplishing important milestones of a fundamental and technological nature. The feasibility of the enlargement of solar energy at the terawatt scale depends on finding cost-efficient compatible solutions to these difficulties [4][5][6].…”

Comparison of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts in dye-sensitised photoelectrochemical cells for alcohol oxidation coupled to dihydrogen formation

“…Interestingly, when using alternative oxidation reactions, lower cell potentials are required, which results in higher cell efficiencies. [22][23][24][25][26] Improvement of cell performance is a motivation to study various DSPEC applications to give fundamental insights for the design of practical and real-world implementation of solar to products devices. Unfortunately, the DSPECs reported so far show short lifetimes (<1 week).…”