(Invited) Solar Fuels Systems: Interfacing Catalysts and Semiconductors for H₂ Production, CO₂ Reduction, and Related Chemistries

The production of fuels and chemicals directly from sunlight holds promise as a means to a sustainable, de-centralized means of manufacturing important molecules such as hydrogen, ethylene, and ammonia, among others. There are many technical challenges to overcome with such solar fuels systems. This paper will describe strategies to interface the proper catalysts with semiconductors to achieve improvements in performance, namely activity, selectivity, and durability. This paper will discuss advanced methods to characterize these systems to understand the chemical and physical phenomena at play that govern performance, in order to point towards improved system designs. This includes the study of ‘real-world’ factors such as corrosion and the impacts of diurnal cycling, such that through improved understanding one can accelerate the pathway towards commercialization of solar fuels systems.