Thermodynamic limits to energy conversion in solar thermal fuels
© 2018 IOP Publishing Ltd. Solar thermal fuels (STFs) are an unconventional paradigm for solar energy conversion and storage which is attracting renewed attention. In this concept, a material absorbs sunlight and stores the energy chemically via an induced structural change, which can later be rever...
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2021
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/133412 |
| _version_ | 1826191885847232512 |
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| author | Strubbe, David A Grossman, Jeffrey C |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering Strubbe, David A Grossman, Jeffrey C |
| author_sort | Strubbe, David A |
| collection | MIT |
| description | © 2018 IOP Publishing Ltd. Solar thermal fuels (STFs) are an unconventional paradigm for solar energy conversion and storage which is attracting renewed attention. In this concept, a material absorbs sunlight and stores the energy chemically via an induced structural change, which can later be reversed to release the energy as heat. An example is the azobenzene molecule which has a cis-trans photoisomerization with these properties, and can be tuned by chemical substitution and attachment to templates such as carbon nanotubes, small molecules, or polymers. By analogy to the Shockley-Queisser limit for photovoltaics, we analyze the maximum attainable efficiency for STFs from fundamental thermodynamic considerations. Microscopic reversibility provides a bound on the quantum yield of photoisomerization due to fluorescence, regardless of details of photochemistry. We emphasize the importance of analyzing the free energy, not just enthalpy, of the metastable molecules, and find an efficiency limit for conversion to stored chemical energy equal to the Shockley-Queisser limit. STF candidates from a recent high-throughput search are analyzed in light of the efficiency limit. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T09:02:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/133412 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T09:02:49Z |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1334122023-02-17T20:30:13Z Thermodynamic limits to energy conversion in solar thermal fuels Strubbe, David A Grossman, Jeffrey C Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering © 2018 IOP Publishing Ltd. Solar thermal fuels (STFs) are an unconventional paradigm for solar energy conversion and storage which is attracting renewed attention. In this concept, a material absorbs sunlight and stores the energy chemically via an induced structural change, which can later be reversed to release the energy as heat. An example is the azobenzene molecule which has a cis-trans photoisomerization with these properties, and can be tuned by chemical substitution and attachment to templates such as carbon nanotubes, small molecules, or polymers. By analogy to the Shockley-Queisser limit for photovoltaics, we analyze the maximum attainable efficiency for STFs from fundamental thermodynamic considerations. Microscopic reversibility provides a bound on the quantum yield of photoisomerization due to fluorescence, regardless of details of photochemistry. We emphasize the importance of analyzing the free energy, not just enthalpy, of the metastable molecules, and find an efficiency limit for conversion to stored chemical energy equal to the Shockley-Queisser limit. STF candidates from a recent high-throughput search are analyzed in light of the efficiency limit. 2021-10-27T19:52:43Z 2021-10-27T19:52:43Z 2019 2019-09-18T18:34:21Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/133412 en 10.1088/1361-648X/AAEF5A Journal of Physics Condensed Matter Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf IOP Publishing arXiv |
| spellingShingle | Strubbe, David A Grossman, Jeffrey C Thermodynamic limits to energy conversion in solar thermal fuels |
| title | Thermodynamic limits to energy conversion in solar thermal fuels |
| title_full | Thermodynamic limits to energy conversion in solar thermal fuels |
| title_fullStr | Thermodynamic limits to energy conversion in solar thermal fuels |
| title_full_unstemmed | Thermodynamic limits to energy conversion in solar thermal fuels |
| title_short | Thermodynamic limits to energy conversion in solar thermal fuels |
| title_sort | thermodynamic limits to energy conversion in solar thermal fuels |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/133412 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT strubbedavida thermodynamiclimitstoenergyconversioninsolarthermalfuels AT grossmanjeffreyc thermodynamiclimitstoenergyconversioninsolarthermalfuels |