Harnessing the power of the sun during cloudy weather or even complete darkness is one of the challenges facing many researchers working in solar energy. With this challenge in mind, research emerging from the Ozin Lab has demonstrated that, through a little known phenomenon of persistent photoconductivity, CO2 can be converted to solar chemicals while overcoming solar intermittency.
In a recent Nature Communications study, Professor Geoffrey Ozin has showed promising results that he believes could lead to an improved persistent photo-catalysis system that would extend catalysis to 12 hours, allowing the system to operate all-day long.
“A round-the-clock solar fuel farm will make more economical sense, which can broaden public and private interests into building such facilities on a grand scale,” says Ozin.
“Research and development of this extraordinary phenomenon portends significant payback for the solar fuels community if it can operate over periods of several hours.”
Read more about this exciting research in Advanced Science News.