Inorganic Photochemistry and Solar Energy Harvesting: Current Developments and Challenges to Solar Fuel Production

Abstract

The large and continuous use of fossil fuels as a primary energy source has led to several environmental problems, such as the increase of the greenhouse effect. In order to minimize these problems, attention has been drawn to renewable energy production. Solar energy is an attractive candidate as renewable source due to its abundance and availability. For this, it is necessary to develop devices able to absorb sunlight and convert it into fuels or electricity in a economical, technical and sustainable way. The so-called artificial photosynthesis has called the attention of researchers due to the possibility of using solar photocatalysts in converting water and CO2 into fuels. This manuscript presents a review of the recent developments of hybrid systems based on molecular photocatalysts immobilized on semiconductor surfaces for solar fuel production through water oxidation and CO2 reduction and also discusses the current challenges for the potential application of these photocatalyst systems.