Abstract
In order to meet the ever-growing global energy demand for affordable and clean energy, it is essential to provide this energy by renewable resources and consider the eco-efficiency of the production and abundance of the utilised materials. While this is seldom discussed in the case of technologies still in the research stage, addressing the issue of sustainability is key to push research in the right direction. Here we provide an overview of the current p-type metal oxide semiconductor materials in dye-sensitised photocathodes, considering element abundance, synthetic methods and large scale fabrication as well as the underlying physical properties that are necessary for efficient solar harvesting devices.
Highlights
Today, concerns surrounding the causes and consequences of man-made climate changes are central topics in our everyday lives
We provide an overview of the current p-type metal oxide semiconductor materials in dye-sensitised photocathodes, considering element abundance, synthetic methods and large scale fabrication as well as the underlying physical properties that are necessary for efficient solar harvesting devices
In comparison to the previously mentioned solar harvesting devices, the advantage of dye-sensitised systems lies in their versatility and tunability which is harder to achieve with other renewable energy devices
Summary
Concerns surrounding the causes and consequences of man-made climate changes are central topics in our everyday lives. The energy demand during production, durability and cost of maintenance of the system can mitigate or compensate extra costs and are important factors to keep in mind during the development of new solar cell and solar fuel devices In this perspective, the concept of sustainability is discussed within the field of solar harvesting for solar cells and solar fuel devices with a focus on photocathodes by discussing the current semiconductor materials and their energy costs to identify sustainable electrode candidates considering element abundance, costs and toxicity. Due to the need for the large-scale production of a variety of solar harvesting devices, there is no doubt that some elements that are considered ‘‘critical’’ will be unavoidable and recycling will become more important than ever Another limitation for crystalline-Si solar cells, which have the highest solar conversion efficiencies, is the large amount of energy required to fabricate these cells due to the energy intensive process of making Si-wafers.
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