Artificial photosynthesis and solar fuels

The aim of the symposium was to take stock of fundamental research and technologies concerning artificial photosynthesis. The aim here is to build devices which, like photosynthetic organisms, store solar energy in the form of chemical energy (carbon fuels or hydrogen): (i) materials (semiconductors) or molecules (photosensitizers) to capture solar photons and separate charges; (ii) catalysts using excited electrons to reduce water or_CO2, and others using holes to oxidize water to oxygen. The symposium dealt with all these elements and their association within electrochemical or photoelectrochemical cells.