Solar fuel

A solar fuel is a synthetic chemical fuel produced from solar energy. Solar fuels can be produced through photochemical (i.e. activation of certain chemical reactions by photons), photobiological (i.e., artificial photosynthesis), and electrochemical reactions (i.e. using the electricity from solar panels to drive a chemical reaction).^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

Solar fuels can also be produced by thermochemical reactions (i.e., through the use of solar heat supplied by concentrated solar thermal energy to drive a chemical reaction).^[5]^[6]

Light is used as an energy source, with solar energy being transduced to chemical energy, typically by reducing protons to hydrogen, or carbon dioxide to organic compounds.

A solar fuel can be produced and stored for later use, when sunlight is not available, making it an alternative to fossil fuels and batteries. Examples of such fuels are hydrogen, ammonia, and hydrazine. Diverse photocatalysts are being developed to carry these reactions in a sustainable, environmentally friendly way.^[7]

^ "Sunshine to Petrol" (PDF). Sandia National Laboratories. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
^ "Integrated Solar Thermochemical Reaction System". U.S. Department of Energy. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
^ Matthew L. Wald (10 April 2013). "New Solar Process Gets More Out of Natural Gas". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
^ Solar Fuels and Artificial Photosynthesis, Nobel Laureate Professor Alan Heeger, RSC 2012
^ Rodat, Sylvain; Abanades, Stéphane; Boujjat, Houssame; Chuayboon, Srirat (1 October 2020). "On the path toward day and night continuous solar high temperature thermochemical processes: A review". Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 132: 110061. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2020.110061. ISSN 1364-0321. S2CID 221803670.
^ Chen, Jing; Kong, Hui; Wang, Hongsheng (1 August 2023). "A novel high-efficiency solar thermochemical cycle for fuel production based on chemical-looping cycle oxygen removal". Applied Energy. 343: 121161. Bibcode:2023ApEn..34321161C. doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2023.121161. ISSN 0306-2619. S2CID 258670374.
^ Styring, Stenbjörn (21 December 2011). "Artificial photosynthesis for solar fuels". Faraday Discussions. 155 (Advance Article): 357–376. Bibcode:2012FaDi..155..357S. doi:10.1039/C1FD00113B. PMID 22470985.

[Sunshine_to_Petrol-1] "Sunshine to Petrol" (PDF). Sandia National Laboratories. Retrieved 11 April 2013.

[SunShot-2] "Integrated Solar Thermochemical Reaction System". U.S. Department of Energy. Retrieved 11 April 2013.

[NYT41013-3] Matthew L. Wald (10 April 2013). "New Solar Process Gets More Out of Natural Gas". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 April 2013.

[4] Solar Fuels and Artificial Photosynthesis, Nobel Laureate Professor Alan Heeger, RSC 2012

[5] Rodat, Sylvain; Abanades, Stéphane; Boujjat, Houssame; Chuayboon, Srirat (1 October 2020). "On the path toward day and night continuous solar high temperature thermochemical processes: A review". Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 132: 110061. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2020.110061. ISSN 1364-0321. S2CID 221803670.

[6] Chen, Jing; Kong, Hui; Wang, Hongsheng (1 August 2023). "A novel high-efficiency solar thermochemical cycle for fuel production based on chemical-looping cycle oxygen removal". Applied Energy. 343: 121161. Bibcode:2023ApEn..34321161C. doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2023.121161. ISSN 0306-2619. S2CID 258670374.

[Styring-7] Styring, Stenbjörn (21 December 2011). "Artificial photosynthesis for solar fuels". Faraday Discussions. 155 (Advance Article): 357–376. Bibcode:2012FaDi..155..357S. doi:10.1039/C1FD00113B. PMID 22470985.

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