SPP 1613: Regeneratively Produced Fuels by Light Driven Water Splitting: Investigation of Involved Elementary Processes and Perspectives of Technologic Implementation

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The concept of this Priority Programme starts from the basic exploration of the elementary processes of the catalytic water splitting reaction in the dark and under illumination and it reaches up to a scientifically based assessment and deployment of engineering strategies tor technological feasible perspectives. Aim is the combination of semiconductor based materials for light absorption and charge separation with elementary and biomimetic catalysts for the O2- and the H2- evolving reactions. The single approved research projects shall lead to synergies by the combination of differing experimental and theoretical expertise and approaches. A bias towards technologically viable concepts should be consensus between the participating groups. Solar energy conversion efficiencies above ten percent (radiation to H2) seem to be realistic in the medium term and should therefore be generally possible in the approved projects. Approaches, which will presumably not deliver such efficiencies or which are too divergent in their scientific issues, shall not be considered in this Priority Programme, e.g. molecular or biomimetic methods for the primary processes of light absorption and charge separation in analogy to photosynthesis in biological systems. Research issues, which are primarily related to current delivering solar cells, shall not be followed either. These areas have been or are already covered by previous or running programmes. To achieve a high degree of coherence between the projects of this Priority Programme, there will be a thematic concentration on strongly interconnected research topics: photoelectrochemistry (PEC), photocatalysis (PC) and electrocatalysis (EC), which are to be combined into model systems for artificial photosynthesis (PS). Furthermore, new theoretical and experimental techniques for the characterisation of the systems under investigation should be developed.