Sustainable Material Solutions for Solar Energy Technologies

Due to an ever-increasing demand for clean energy, a sharp increase in the development of technologies that utilize solar energy has occurred. Currently, there are several important methods for harnessing solar energy in various stages of technological development, these include: photovoltaics, photocatalysis, photo-electrochemistry, solar thermal, and photochemistry. A related and parallel consideration is sustainable aspects of materials usage including efficiency and environmental friendliness of processing and production methods. In order to effectively utilize solar energy systems, an in-depth understanding of the technology as well as its suitability according to the requirements and nature of usage is required. Sustainable Material Solutions for Solar Energy Technologies: Processing Techniques and Applications provides an overview of the challenges that must be addressed to efficiently utilize solar energy. It looks at novel materials and device architectures that have been developed to optimize energy conversion efficiencies and minimize environmental impacts. Advances in technologies for harnessing solar energy are extensively discussed, with topics including materials processing, device fabrication, sustainability of materials and manufacturing, and current state-of-the-art. Leading international experts discuss the applications, challenges and future prospects of research in this increasingly vital field, providing a valuable resource for students and all researchers working in this field. Explores the fundamentals of sustainable materials for solar energy applications with in-depth discussions of most promising material solutions for solar energy technologies: photocatalysis, photovoltaic, hydrogen production, harvesting and storageDiscusses the environmental challenges to be overcome and importance of efficient materials utilization for clean energyLooks at design materials processing and optimization of device fabrication via metrics such as power-to-weight ratio, effectiveness at EOL compared to BOL, and life-cycle analysis