Home > Press > Chemists describe solar energy progress and challenges, including the 'artificial leaf'
Abstract:
Scientists are making progress toward development of an "artificial leaf" that mimics a real leaf's chemical magic with photosynthesis — but instead converts sunlight and water into a liquid fuel such as methanol for cars and trucks.
Chemists describe solar energy progress and challenges, including the 'artificial leaf'
China, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States | Posted on November 8th, 2009
That is among the conclusions in a newly-available report from top authorities on solar energy who met at the 1st Annual Chemical Sciences and Society Symposium. The gathering launched a new effort to initiate international cooperation and innovative thinking on the global energy challenge.
The three-day symposium, which took place in Germany this past summer, included 30 chemists from China, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. It was organized through a joint effort of the science and technology funding agencies and chemical societies of each country, including the U. S. National Science Foundation and the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society. The symposium series was initiated though the ACS Committee on International Activities in order to offer a unique forum whereby global challenges could be tackled in an open, discussion-based setting, fostering innovative solutions to some of the world's most daunting challenges.
A "white paper" entitled "Powering the World with Sunlight," describes highlights of the symposium and is available along with related materials here.
"The sun provides more energy to the Earth in an hour than the world consumes in a year," the report states. "Compare that single hour to the one million years required for the Earth to accumulate the same amount of energy in the form of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are not a sustainable resource, and we must break our dependence on them. Solar power is among the most promising alternatives."
The symposium focused on four main topics:
* Mimicking photosynthesis using synthetic materials such as the "artificial leaf"
* Production and use of biofuels as a form of stored solar energy
* Developing innovative, more efficient solar cells
* Storage and distribution of solar energy
The scientists pointed out during the meeting that plants use solar energy when they capture and convert sunlight into chemical fuel through photosynthesis. The process involves the conversion of water and carbon dioxide into sugars as well as oxygen and hydrogen. Scientists have been successful in mimicking this fuel-making process, termed artificial photosynthesis, but now must finds ways of doing so in ways that can be used commercially. Participants described progress toward this goal and the scientific challenges that must be met before solar can be a viable alternative to fossil fuels.
Highlights of the symposium include a talk by Kazunari Domen, Ph.D., of the University of Tokyo in Japan. Domen described current research on developing more efficient and affordable catalysts for producing hydrogen using a new water-splitting technology called "photocatalytic overall water splitting." The technology uses light-activated nanoparticles, each 1/50,000 the width of a human hair, to convert water to hydrogen. This technique is more efficient and less expensive than current technologies, he said.
Domen noted that the ultimate goal of artificial photosynthesis is to produce a liquid fuel, such as methanol, or "wood alcohol." Achieving this goal would fulfil the vision of creating an "artificial leaf" that not only splits water but uses the reaction products to create a more usable fuel, similar to what leaves do.
Among the "take-home messages" cited in the report:
* There's no single best solution to the energy problem. Scientists must seek more affordable, sustainable solutions to the global energy challenge by considering all the options.
* Investing in chemistry is investing in the future. Strong basic research is fundamental to realizing the potential of solar energy and making it affordable for large-scale use.
* Society needs a new generation of "energy scientists" to explore new ways to capture, convert, and store solar energy.
"The meeting was an experiment worth trying," said Teruto Ohta, executive director of the Chemical Society of Japan.
Conference organizers expressed hope that the symposium will be the first of several to tackle "the global challenges of the 21st century and the indispensible role that the chemical sciences play in addressing these issues," said Klaus Mullen, president of the German Chemistry Association.
"Building on the success of this first symposium, we're now gearing up for the future, convening top chemical scientists to address other, equally pressing global challenges," said Julie Callahan of the ACS Office of International Activities and principal investigator on the project. "It is an exciting time to be a chemist!"
####
About American Chemical Society
The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 154,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
For more information, please click here
Contacts:
Michael Bernstein
202-872-6042
Copyright © Eurekalert
If you have a comment, please
Contact us.
Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Bookmark:
News and information
Aspen Aerogels Announces $22.5 Million Private Placement May 18th, 2013
NanoInk, Inc. Assets To Be Sold May 18th, 2013
Beautiful "flowers" self-assemble in a beaker: Elaborate nanostructures blossom from a chemical reaction perfected at Harvard May 17th, 2013
Scientists capture first direct proof of Hofstadter butterfly effect May 17th, 2013
Chemistry
Iranian Scientists Use Pomegranate Juice to Produce Copper Iodide Nanostructure May 14th, 2013
Chemistry breakthrough sheds new light on illness and health May 12th, 2013
Researchers develop unique method for creating uniform nanoparticles May 6th, 2013
Four groups at the UJI set up a multidisciplinary cooperative research consortium to advance in medicine, energy and catalysis May 1st, 2013
Possible Futures
Lifeboat publishes its first book: The Lifeboat Foundation has published its first book, "The Human Race to the Future: What Could Happen -- and What to Do" May 14th, 2013
UC Santa Barbara History Professor's Book Elucidates, Celebrates ‘Visioneers' May 14th, 2013
Conceptual Nanomedical Lipofuscin Removal Strategy April 29th, 2013
The Global Desalination Market 2013-2023 April 24th, 2013
Investments/IPO's/Splits
Aspen Aerogels Announces $22.5 Million Private Placement May 18th, 2013
Harris & Harris Group Notes the Sale of a Second D-Wave Quantum Computer May 16th, 2013
Nanometrics Announces Upcoming Investor Events May 14th, 2013
Nanostart-holding New Asia Investments invests in breakthrough water projects May 13th, 2013
Announcements
Aspen Aerogels Announces $22.5 Million Private Placement May 18th, 2013
NanoInk, Inc. Assets To Be Sold May 18th, 2013
NIA Public Briefing: Nanotechnology and the Council of Europe May 17th, 2013
Scientists capture first direct proof of Hofstadter butterfly effect May 17th, 2013
Interviews/Book Reviews/Essays/Reports/Podcasts/Journals
Moth-Inspired Nanostructures Take the Color Out of Thin Films May 17th, 2013
Add boron for better batteries: Rice University theorists say graphene-boron mix shows promise for lithium-ion batteries May 17th, 2013
DNA-Guided Assembly Yields Novel Ribbon-Like Nanostructures: Approach could be useful in fabricating new kinds of materials with engineered properties May 16th, 2013
Advancements and developments of solid-state nanopores sensors May 16th, 2013
Energy
Artificial Forest for Solar Water-Splitting: Berkeley Lab Researchers Report First Fully Integrated Artificial Photosynthesis Nanosystem May 17th, 2013
Moth-Inspired Nanostructures Take the Color Out of Thin Films May 17th, 2013
Solar panels as inexpensive as paint? It’s possible due to research at UB, elsewhere May 13th, 2013
Flawed Diamonds Promise Sensory Perfection: Berkeley Lab researchers and their colleagues extend electron spin in diamond for incredibly tiny magnetic detectors May 10th, 2013
Automotive/Transportation
Imec and Renesas collaborate on ultra-low power short range radios: Collaboration will develop robust wireless solutions for future electronics May 16th, 2013
Physicists discover a new kind of friction: Friction in the nano-world May 16th, 2013
Michigan Tech Scientist's Discovery Could Lead to a Better Capacitor April 16th, 2013
Surface diffusion plays a key role in defining the shapes of catalytic nanoparticles April 8th, 2013
Events/Classes
Interactive Printed Products – New Applications Enabled by Organic and Printed Electronics May 16th, 2013
Nanometrics Announces Upcoming Investor Events May 14th, 2013
INSCX™ exchange to present a nanotechnology-based Emission Reduction Programme, Ankara, Turkey, June 2013 May 14th, 2013
VDMA: New “Photonics Industry Report 2013” presented May 14th, 2013
Solar/Photovoltaic
Artificial Forest for Solar Water-Splitting: Berkeley Lab Researchers Report First Fully Integrated Artificial Photosynthesis Nanosystem May 17th, 2013
Moth-Inspired Nanostructures Take the Color Out of Thin Films May 17th, 2013
Solar panels as inexpensive as paint? It’s possible due to research at UB, elsewhere May 13th, 2013
Cambrios Taps Sriram Peruvemba to Oversee Worldwide Marketing May 8th, 2013