Introduction: A Delicate Collection of Advances in Solar-to-Chemical Conversions

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book covers the fundamentals in solar energy conversion to chemicals, either fuels or chemical products. It provides an overview of the most important process, i.e. natural photosynthesis. Such a process has been literally powered the whole planet with various species and the ecosystem. With the insights into them, inspirations are achieved for artificial photosynthesis, which leads to the fantastic explorations on solar-to-chemical conversions. The book also introduces heterogeneous photocatalytic reactions for hydrogen evolution. It reviews the fundamentals of photoelectrochemical oxygen evolution toward higher efficiencies as compared with powdered or homogeneous photocatalytic oxygen evolution. Recently photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical reforming of biomass are demonstrated. By several dream reactions, solar energy can be captured and stored in terms of solar fuels.