Semiconductor/biomolecular composites for solar energy applications

Abstract

Solar energy is the world's most abundant renewable energy source. It has great potential to replace the depleting fossil fuels to power our society. Current photovoltaic and photocatalytic systems are almost entirely based on semiconductor materials. To enhance the efficiency of these systems for solar energy applications, various approaches have been developed. Considerable effort has been focused on the development of semiconductor/biomolecular composites for converting sunlight to electricity and fuels. This perspective is intended to discuss the recent research findings involving the bio-inspired photovoltaic devices, photoelectrochemical cells, and photocatalytic processes. The synthesis strategies for the hybrid materials and the working principles of the systems are presented.