U-M researchers working toward efficient harvesting of solar energy

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—At the University of Michigan College of Engineering, recent breakthroughs may lead to more effective means for harnessing the power of the sun. Conventional means of collecting solar energy, solar cells for example, have been notoriously inefficient. Now a team of chemical engineers at U-M is exploring new means of exploiting the abundant energy produced by Earth's nearest star. They have discovered a method for utilizing metal nano-particles, which act much like nanometer-sized light antennae, to help accelerate the production of renewable solar fuels and other chemicals. The team, led by chemical engineering professor Suljo Linic, includes doctoral students David Ingram, Phillip Christopher and Hongliang Xin. "The diffuse nature of solar light makes it very difficult to design processes that can convert the energy of sunlight into energy of chemical bonds at high rates," Linic said. "Our recent work shows that by using nano-particles with tailored optical properties, we can efficiently concentrate light and convert its energy into chemical energy at higher rates." Two important findings from the team's research have recently been published in leading chemistry journals.