Nathan S.L. Basic Research Needs for Solar Energy Utilization. Argonne National Laboratory 2015

Published Argonne National Laboratory
One route to harvesting the energy of the sun involves learning to mimic natural photosynthesis. Here, sunlight falls on a porphyrin, one member of a family of molecules that includes the chlorophylls, which play a central role in capturing light and using its energy for photosynthesis in green plants.
Efficient light-harvesting of the solar spectrum by porphyrins and related molecules can be used to power synthetic molecular assemblies and solid state devices — applying the principles of photosynthesis to the production of hydrogen, methane, ethanol, and methanol from sunlight, water, and atmospheric carbon dioxide.Global Energy Resources
Repor the ts ofPanels on Basic Research Needs for Solar Energy Utilization
Basic Research Challenges for Solar Electricity
Basic Research Challenges for Solar Fuels
Basic Research Challenges for Solar Thermal Utilization
Cross-cutting Research Challenges
Priority Research Directions
Revolutionary Photovoltaic Devices: 50% Efficient Solar Cells
Maximum Energy from Solar Photons at Low Cost: Designed Plastic
Photovoltaic Structures...
Nanostructures for Solar Energy Conversion: Low Cost and High Efficiencies...
Fuels from Water and Sunlight: New Photoelectrodes for
Efficient Photoelectrolysis
Leveraging Photosynthesis for Sustainable Solar Production of Biofuels
Using a Bio-inspired Smart Matrix to Optimize Energy Landscapes for
Solar Fuels Production
Solar-powered Catalysts for Energy-rich Fuels Formation.
Bio-inspired Molecular Assemblies for Integrating Photon-to-fuels Pathways
Achieving Defect-tolerant and Self-repairing Solar Conversion Systems
Solar Thermochemical Fuel Production
New Experimental and Theoretical Tools to Enable Transformational Research...
Solar Energy Conversion Materials by Design
Materials Architectures for Solar Energy: Assembling Complex Structures