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Solar utilization beyond photosynthesis

Nature Reviews Chemistry volume 7, pages 91–105 (2023)Cite this article

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Abstract

Natural photosynthesis is an efficient biochemical process which converts solar energy into energy-rich carbohydrates. By understanding the key photoelectrochemical processes and mechanisms that underpin natural photosynthesis, advanced solar utilization technologies have been developed that may be used to provide sustainable energy to help address climate change. The processes of light harvesting, catalysis and energy storage in natural photosynthesis have inspired photovoltaics, photoelectrocatalysis and photo-rechargeable battery technologies. In this Review, we describe how advanced solar utilization technologies have drawn inspiration from natural photosynthesis, to find sustainable solutions to the challenges faced by modern society. We summarize the uses of advanced solar utilization technologies, such as converting solar energy to electrical and chemical energy, electrochemical storage and conversion, and associated thermal tandem technologies. Both the foundational mechanisms and typical materials and devices are reported. Finally, potential future solar utilization technologies are presented that may mimic, and even outperform, natural photosynthesis.

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Fig. 1: The basic natural photosynthesis processes and the divided four key photoelectrochemical processes.
Fig. 2: Natural photosynthesis inspired solar to power technology.
Fig. 3: Natural photosynthesis inspired solar to chemical technology.
Fig. 4: Natural photosynthesis inspired solar to electrochemical storage technology.
Fig. 5: Natural photosynthesis inspired solar to electrochemical conversion technology.
Fig. 6: Advanced solar to thermal technology.
Fig. 7: Solar energy conversion efficiency.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 22105037, 22279141, 22205238, 21872147 and 22022110), Key Research Program of Frontier Sciences, CAS (No. ZDBS-LY-SLH028), National key Research & Development Program of China (2021YFA1501500 and 2021YFA1202700), CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion Joint Research Fund (KLUPC-2020-3), Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS (2022308) to J.X., Fujian Science & Technology Innovation Laboratory for Optoelectronic Information of China (No. 2021ZZ106), Science and Technology Service Network Initiative (KFJ-STS-QYZD-2021-09-23) and Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province (No. 2020J01934).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Electronics and Information Science, Fujian Jiangxia University, Fuzhou, P. R. China

    Jiangquan Lv

  2. State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou, P. R. China

    Jiangquan Lv, Aya Gomaa Abdelkader Mohamed, Xiang Zhang, Yangyang Feng, Lei Jiao, Enbo Zhou, Daqiang Yuan & Yaobing Wang

  3. Fujian Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou, P. R. China

    Jiangquan Lv, Aya Gomaa Abdelkader Mohamed, Xiang Zhang, Yangyang Feng, Lei Jiao, Enbo Zhou, Daqiang Yuan & Yaobing Wang

  4. Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, P. R. China

    Jiafang Xie

  5. Fujian Science and Technology Innovation Laboratory for Optoelectronic Information of China, Fuzhou, P. R. China

    Daqiang Yuan & Yaobing Wang

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Contributions

J.L., J.X. and A.G.A.M. contributed equally to this work. J.L., J.X., A.G.A.M. and Y.W. wrote this Review together. X.Z., Y.F., L.J., D.Y. and E.Z. helped draw the figures. Y.W. is in charge of all the manuscript. All authors contributed to the discussion and writing of this Review.

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Correspondence to Yaobing Wang.

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Lv, J., Xie, J., Mohamed, A.G.A. et al. Solar utilization beyond photosynthesis. Nat Rev Chem 7, 91–105 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41570-022-00448-9

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