Hindawi Publishing Corporation International Journal of Photoenergy Volume 2009, Article ID 525968, 2 pages doi:10.1155/2009/525968 Editorial Solar Energy and Nanomaterials for Clean Energy Development M. S. A. Abdel-Mottaleb, 1 Frank N¨ uesch, 2 and Mohamed M. S. A. Abdel-Mottaleb 3 1 Nano-Photochemistry and Solarchemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Abbassia, Cairo 11566, Egypt 2 Laboratory for Functional Polymers, EMPA, ¨ Uberlandstrasse 129, CH-8600 D¨ ubendorf, Switzerland 3 Nanotechnology Program, Nile University, Smart Village-B71 K28, Cairo/Alex Desert Road, Cairo, Egypt Correspondence should be addressed to M. S. A. Abdel-Mottaleb, [email protected] Received 31 December 2009; Accepted 31 December 2009 Copyright © 2009 M. S. A. Abdel-Mottaleb et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. This special issue on “Solar energy and nanomaterials for clean energy development” is composed of selected, full- length versions of papers presented during the international Solar’09 conference that was held in the fascinating historical city of Luxor. The conference gathered scientists from 26 countries, to discuss outstanding research on a multitude of topics and disciplines. As was pointed out by Professor Paul Barbara from the University of Texas in Austin at the opening session of the conference, this medium-sized conference offered the unique opportunity to learn and exchange scientific issues from distinct disciplines that have one main thing in common, solar photons. This exceptional opportunity to learn about other fields of research not only required particular didactic skills form the speakers, but also demanded special attention and openness from the audience. Under the headline of “powering a greener future,” a total of 41 oral presentations were delivered and com- plemented by a similar number of posters. Photovoltaics, photocatalysis, solar irradiance, photodegradation, photo- induced electron transfer, photochemistry, photobatteries and photospectroscopy are just a flavour of the high diversity of discussed topics. There was even an enriching contribution on pellet fuels for future generation IV nuclear plants, reminding that continued progress is also necessary in already proven technologies. A strong emphasis was placed on organic-based photovoltaics. Dye-sensitized solar cells have now reached a high degree of maturity in theoretical and experimental understanding of the various microscopic processes contributing to the overall working principle. The dye-sensitized (Gr¨ atzel) solar cell is the earliest solar cell directly utilizing nanoscale components for its perfor- mance. Here, light absorption takes place predominantly in dye molecules anchored to the surface of nanoparticles of a wide bandgap semiconductor, usually TiO 2 . Upon excitation with visible light, the dye injects electrons from its excited state into the TiO 2 conduction band, leading to a charge-separated state. To absorb enough light, the TiO 2 is made nanoporous, with a large surface area per unit volume and weight. The optimization of the dye/TiO 2 layer is heavily dependent on nanoscale fabrication and characterization; the TiO 2 layer must have a large surface area to incorporate enough dye, but a structure that is thin and open enough to allow for efficient charge transport with minimum losses. Above all, the quest for novel dyes in dye sensitized solar cells is clear, for efficient near-infrared absorbers that are still missing. Interfacial charge transfer complexes on TiO 2 showed a new way to achieve direct interfacial charge-transfer. Due to the important advances worldwide, this thin film photovoltaic technology is on the verge of large-scale commercialisation. In solid organic solar cells, higher efficiencies have still to be met. Funda- mental studies are certainly required for this technology to be in accordance with dye-sensitized solar cells. As was shown in one contribution, single molecule fluorescence spectroscopy can reveal microscopic response of conjugated polymers to charging. Single-molecule probes were also shown to be new experimental tools to explore nanoporous
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Hindawi Publishing CorporationInternational Journal of PhotoenergyVolume 2009, Article ID 525968, 2 pagesdoi:10.1155/2009/525968
Editorial
Solar Energy and Nanomaterials forClean Energy Development
M. S. A. Abdel-Mottaleb,1 Frank Nuesch,2 and Mohamed M. S. A. Abdel-Mottaleb3
1 Nano-Photochemistry and Solarchemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science,Ain Shams University, Abbassia, Cairo 11566, Egypt
2 Laboratory for Functional Polymers, EMPA, Uberlandstrasse 129, CH-8600 Dubendorf, Switzerland3 Nanotechnology Program, Nile University, Smart Village-B71 K28, Cairo/Alex Desert Road, Cairo, Egypt
Correspondence should be addressed to M. S. A. Abdel-Mottaleb, [email protected]
Received 31 December 2009; Accepted 31 December 2009
Copyright © 2009 M. S. A. Abdel-Mottaleb et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative CommonsAttribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work isproperly cited.
This special issue on “Solar energy and nanomaterials forclean energy development” is composed of selected, full-length versions of papers presented during the internationalSolar’09 conference that was held in the fascinating historicalcity of Luxor. The conference gathered scientists from 26countries, to discuss outstanding research on a multitudeof topics and disciplines. As was pointed out by ProfessorPaul Barbara from the University of Texas in Austin atthe opening session of the conference, this medium-sizedconference offered the unique opportunity to learn andexchange scientific issues from distinct disciplines that haveone main thing in common, solar photons. This exceptionalopportunity to learn about other fields of research not onlyrequired particular didactic skills form the speakers, butalso demanded special attention and openness from theaudience.
Under the headline of “powering a greener future,” atotal of 41 oral presentations were delivered and com-plemented by a similar number of posters. Photovoltaics,photocatalysis, solar irradiance, photodegradation, photo-induced electron transfer, photochemistry, photobatteriesand photospectroscopy are just a flavour of the highdiversity of discussed topics. There was even an enrichingcontribution on pellet fuels for future generation IV nuclearplants, reminding that continued progress is also necessary inalready proven technologies. A strong emphasis was placedon organic-based photovoltaics. Dye-sensitized solar cellshave now reached a high degree of maturity in theoreticaland experimental understanding of the various microscopic
processes contributing to the overall working principle.The dye-sensitized (Gratzel) solar cell is the earliest solarcell directly utilizing nanoscale components for its perfor-mance. Here, light absorption takes place predominantlyin dye molecules anchored to the surface of nanoparticlesof a wide bandgap semiconductor, usually TiO2. Uponexcitation with visible light, the dye injects electrons fromits excited state into the TiO2 conduction band, leadingto a charge-separated state. To absorb enough light, theTiO2 is made nanoporous, with a large surface area perunit volume and weight. The optimization of the dye/TiO2
layer is heavily dependent on nanoscale fabrication andcharacterization; the TiO2 layer must have a large surfacearea to incorporate enough dye, but a structure that is thinand open enough to allow for efficient charge transportwith minimum losses. Above all, the quest for novel dyes indye sensitized solar cells is clear, for efficient near-infraredabsorbers that are still missing. Interfacial charge transfercomplexes on TiO2 showed a new way to achieve directinterfacial charge-transfer. Due to the important advancesworldwide, this thin film photovoltaic technology is onthe verge of large-scale commercialisation. In solid organicsolar cells, higher efficiencies have still to be met. Funda-mental studies are certainly required for this technologyto be in accordance with dye-sensitized solar cells. As wasshown in one contribution, single molecule fluorescencespectroscopy can reveal microscopic response of conjugatedpolymers to charging. Single-molecule probes were alsoshown to be new experimental tools to explore nanoporous
2 International Journal of Photoenergy
materials, in addition to examining light-harvesting systems.Classical photographic dyes have also been proposed asnew material class for organic solar cells. Novel deviceconcepts based on plasmon resonances in nanoparticles wereproposed.
Besides photovoltaics, photocatalysis was another themeencompassing the four conference days. Photocatalizeddecomposition of pollutants at various titania surfaces isof great interest. Electron transfer reactions are at the baseof these photoinduced processes and were also the subjectof one of the theoretical contributions. Water purification,pollutant degradation, and hydrogen production were themost targeted applications. The principle of photocatalysis isto use the energy of photons in the visible to near-UV range(ca. 1.5–5 eV) to generate active chemical species driving asurface chemical reaction on a photocatalyst.
The typical scheme of photocatalysis involves harvestingof light photons in a semiconductor (most commonly TiO2),and subsequent conversion of these photons to electronicexcitations, which then induce the desired chemical reactionon the semiconductor surface. One main bottleneck of thisscheme is a high recombination rate of the excited electron-hole pairs, which is relatively slower in case of semiconductorparticles of nanodimensions. The majority of charge carriersin nanoparticles will have the opportunity of diffusing intothe nearby surface, and thus generating the reactive speciesleading to efficient surface reactions. It is, thus, obviousthat nanostructures offer the opportunity for the chargesto survive in order to induce a surface reaction, beforerecombination occurs.
As well as scientific research, engineered systems suchas solar water pumping systems or solar dryers highlightedthe benefit of solar powered applications that could beimplemented already today.
The conference highlights were not only scientific, butalso cultural and culinary. A full day was dedicated to visit theWest Bank of Luxor, including memorable visits to the Valleyof the Kings, the mortuary temple of pharaoh Hatshepsut,and Hapu Temple of Ramsis 3rd. Well preserved colourreliefs, built 4000 years ago, were simply breath-taking anddemonstrated that they were built to last for eternity. Todaywe have lost the desire to build for eternity; instead, we areburning up so much fossil fuel that it is doubtful whetherthere will be anything left for future generations. Power fromthe sun can be harnessed to provide sustainable energy, andmany solar-based technologies are ready to be implementednow.
The highly successful solar conference series, startedin 1991, provide a place where researchers interested infundamental and applied aspects of photochemistry canmeet and inspire one another. The solar conferences recog-nize that successful photochemical applications go hand inhand with advancement of fundamental understanding ofphotoinduced processes and excited states.
The focus of this conference series is of great importanceto the current global energy security situation. A coordinatedaction on a global level is urgently needed to avert the crisis.The developing world must take an active role in any suchcoordinated action.
Currently, nanotechnology is generating a lot of attentionand it is generating great expectations not only in theacademic community but also among investors, the govern-ments, and industry. Its unique capability to fabricate newstructures at atomic scale has already produced novel mate-rials and devices with great potential applications in a widenumber of fields. Among them, significant breakthroughs areespecially required in the energy sector that will allow us tomaintain our increasing demand for energy. Nanotechnologyoffers, for the first time, tools to develop new industries basedon cost-effective and cost-efficient economies, thus seriouslycontributing to a sustainable economic growth.
This special issue covers some specific contributionsfrom nanotechnology to various sustainable energies. Asmentioned above, the issue’s main focus is on three broadareas, namely, light harvesting, catalysis, and materials.Articles on PV chemical solar cells are the most significantexamples of the contributions of nanotechnology in theenergy sector. The aim of this issue is to present somesignificant contributions from different research groupsworking on different approaches, to find solutions to oneof the great challenges of our time, that is, the productionand use of greener energy from one of the most exciting andmultidisciplinary fields, nanotechnology.
Focusing on the energy domain, nanotechnology hasthe potential to significantly reduce the impact of energyproduction, storage, and use. Even if we are still far froma truly sustainable energy system, the scientific communityis looking at a further development of energy nanotech-nologies. In fact, one of the 10 top-level themes of the VIIFramework Program of the European Union (FP7) is energy.Accordingly, the research will be focused on acceleratingthe development of cost-effective technologies for a moresustainable energy economy.
According to the “Roadmap Report Concerning theuse of Nanomaterials in the Energy Sector” from the 6thFramework Program, the most promising application fieldsfor the energy conversion domain will be mainly focusedon solar energy (mostly photovoltaic technology for localsupply), hydrogen conversion, and thermoelectric devices.
It is hoped that this issue may provide an overview ofthe contribution of nanotechnology to the solar energy in abroad sense and to sustainable ways to store energy as a stepforward a more sustainable use of energy.
M. S. A. Abdel-MottalebFrank Nuesch
Mohamed M. S. A. Abdel-Mottaleb
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