Studies in the Storage of Solar Energy in Chemical Bonds
Abstract
More energy from sunlight strikes the earth in a matter of hours than all of the energy consumed on the planet in one year. However, due to the intermittency of sunlight, storage methods which convert solar energy into a reliable energy source for on-demand utilization are essential. One promising method of solar energy storage is to use solar energy to drive the generation of chemical fuels such as hydrogen. This talk will present studies in the design and synthesis of dinuclear metal complexes as water oxidation catalysts, as part of a molecular-based approach towards water splitting at low temperatures, and studies in the improvement of the thermodynamic properties of reactive materials in the two-step solar thermochemical synthesis of hydrogen from water, as part of a materials-based approach towards water splitting at high temperatures.
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