The 2022 solar fuels roadmap


Change log
Abstract

jats:titleAbstract</jats:title> jats:pRenewable fuel generation is essential for a low carbon footprint economy. Thus, over the last five decades, a significant effort has been dedicated towards increasing the performance of solar fuels generating devices. Specifically, the solar to hydrogen efficiency of photoelectrochemical cells has progressed steadily towards its fundamental limit, and the faradaic efficiency towards valuable products in COjats:sub2</jats:sub> reduction systems has increased dramatically. However, there are still numerous scientific and engineering challenges that must be overcame in order to turn solar fuels into a viable technology. At the electrode and device level, the conversion efficiency, stability and products selectivity must be increased significantly. Meanwhile, these performance metrics must be maintained when scaling up devices and systems while maintaining an acceptable cost and carbon footprint. This roadmap surveys different aspects of this endeavor: system benchmarking, device scaling, various approaches for photoelectrodes design, materials discovery, and catalysis. Each of the sections in the roadmap focuses on a single topic, discussing the state of the art, the key challenges and advancements required to meet them. The roadmap can be used as a guide for researchers and funding agencies highlighting the most pressing needs of the field.</jats:p>

Description

Funder: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000879


Funder: Thistledown Foundation


Funder: Research Corporation for Science Advancement; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100001309


Funder: TomKat Foundation; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100018042


Funder: Taiwan Ministry of Education and Taiwan and Ministry of Science


Funder: the Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy


Funder: Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100003246

Keywords
solar fuels, catalysis, CO2 reduction, water splitting
Journal Title
Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics
Conference Name
Journal ISSN
0022-3727
1361-6463
Volume Title
55
Publisher
IOP Publishing
Sponsorship
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/R011923/1)