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| Version | Summary | Created by | Modification | Content Size | Created at | Operation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dean Liu | -- | 1103 | 2022-11-22 01:45:29 |
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Solar chemical refers to a number of possible processes that harness solar energy by absorbing sunlight in a chemical reaction. The idea is conceptually similar to photosynthesis in plants, which converts solar energy into the chemical bonds of glucose molecules, but without using living organisms, which is why it is also called artificial photosynthesis. A promising approach is to use focused sunlight to provide the energy needed to split water into its constituent hydrogen and oxygen in the presence of a metallic catalyst such as zinc. This is normally done in a two-step process so that hydrogen and oxygen are not produced in the same chamber, which creates an explosion hazard. Another approach involves taking the hydrogen created in this process and combining it with carbon dioxide to create methane. The benefit of this approach is that there is an established infrastructure for transporting and burning methane for power generation, which is not true for hydrogen. One main drawback to both of these approaches is common to most methods of energy storage: adding an extra step between energy collection and electricity production drastically decreases the efficiency of the overall process.
References
- Bolton, James (1977). Solar Power and Fuels. Academic Press, Inc.. ISBN 978-0-12-112350-5. https://archive.org/details/solarpowerfuelsp0000inte. , p. 235-237
- Kolpak, Alexie; Jeffrey Grossman (2011). "Azobenzene-Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes As High-Energy Density Solar Thermal Fuels". Nano Letters 11 (8): 3156–3162. doi:10.1021/nl201357n. PMID 21688811. Bibcode: 2011NanoL..11.3156K. https://dx.doi.org/10.1021%2Fnl201357n
- Bolton, James (1977). Solar Power and Fuels. Academic Press, Inc.. ISBN 978-0-12-112350-5. https://archive.org/details/solarpowerfuelsp0000inte. , p. 238-240
- Durgan, E.; Jeffrey Grossman (4 March 2013). "Photoswitchable molecular rings for solar-thermal energy storage". Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 4 (6): 854–860. doi:10.1021/jz301877n. PMID 26291346. https://dx.doi.org/10.1021%2Fjz301877n
- "Materials Processing Center" (in en-us). https://mpc-www.mit.edu/mpc/item/137-advancing-solar-thermal-fuels#&ts=undefined.
