Integrated Systems
Among the main obstacles that have prevented the development of efficient and durable solar fuel conversion systems is the difficulty of combining fuel-generating catalysis with water oxidation (electron source) chemistry. One preoccupation of the Integrated Systems subtask is the attachment and coupling of catalysts that have been developed by the Catalysis teams to nanoscale PV elements, or to possible alternatives, such as molecular inorganic chromophores inside nanoporous silica scaffolds. A second effort focuses on the missing piece for making efficient photosynthetic assemblies: 3-D nanostructured membranes that afford vectorial integration of the photocatalytic . Integrated Systems teams are exploring inorganic and hybrid nanostructured membranes that will allow for the arrangement of the in this manner. In addition, theorists are developing a computational tool, the Helios Simulator, which uses existing and emerging performance data of the various to simulate the performance of the integrated assembly. The simulations will serve to identify possible roadblocks and point to aspects of the system that require the most attention.
