Symposium EC4—Materials, Devices and Systems for Sustainable Conversion of Solar Energy to Fuels

While solar energy will undoubtedly play a dominant role in a sustainable future, the conventional photovoltaic approach of converting sunlight to electrical power faces limitations due to the diurnal and diffuse nature of sunlight. The conversion of solar energy to chemical fuels seeks to address the challenges of storage and distribution of this resource. By storing the energy in chemical bonds, stable fuels in the liquid or gaseous phase can be produced and utilized in widespread applications.

Numerous approaches to solar-to-fuels conversion have been postulated, each with the goals of efficient and stable energy conversion, ideally utilizing abundant and scalable materials. The main reactions of interest include the electrolysis of water to yield hydrogen fuel and the reduction of carbon dioxide to generate hydrocarbon fuels. This symposium will reveal the latest advances in solar-to-fuels conversion by photocatalytic, electrocatalytic, photoelectrochemical, and photovoltaic approaches, and various combinations thereof. It will also include special attention to electrode architectures, device design, and analyses of the feasibility and techno-economic aspects of complete solar-to-fuels conversion systems.