Abstract
Photosynthesis in nature does not use the far infrared part of the solar spectrum (lambda > 900 nm), comprising about 30% of the incoming solar energy. By simple thermodynamic arguments it is explained that this is due to the unavoidable back reactions during the night. It follows that lambda approximate to 900 nm provides a natural limit on artificial photosynthesis. The same limit holds for a two-tandem Si solar cell.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 7229-7234 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Journal of Physical Chemistry B |
| Volume | 121 |
| Issue number | 30 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 3 Aug 2017 |
Funding
R.v.G. was supported by the VU University Amsterdam; the Laserlab-Europe consortium; TOP Grant 700.58.305 from the Foundation of Chemical Sciences part of Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO); European Research Council Advanced Grant 267333 (PHOTPROT); and the European Union FP7 project PAPETS (Grant Agreement 323901). R.v.G. gratefully acknowledges his Academy Professorship from The Netherlands Royal Academy of Sciences (KNAW) and was further supported by the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR).
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Foundation of Chemical Sciences part of Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research | |
| Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen | |
| Canadian Institute for Advanced Research | |
| Seventh Framework Programme | 267333, 323901 |
| European Research Council | |
| Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen | |
| Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam | 700.58.305 |
| Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek | |
| Seventh Framework Programme |
