Artificial Photosynthesis

Artificial photosynthesis, in broad terms, is the process for converting solar energy into a useful fuel for storage and mobile use, as photosynthesis in plants and algae does. Replication of the photosynthetic process would mark a significant achievement in the production of clean energy while also reducing CO₂ in the atmosphere. Artificially replicating the process however, presents several challenges and thus far, extensive efforts have been devoted to water splitting to produce hydrogen as a solar fuel in heterogeneous photocatalysis. The molecular-based mimicry of the fundamental processes occurring in photosynthesis has attracted much attention including: light harvesting, charge separation, water oxidation, NAD(P)⁺ reduction and CO₂ fixation. Each of these processes, however, has been researched separately in their respective fields of study. This book aims to provide a unified view, and future perspective, of artificial photosynthesis while discussing and reviewing all of the artificial molecular processes together. It is an ideal single-source reference for any student or early career researcher interested in the study of molecular-based artificial photosynthesis systems.