Publication date: 21st July 2025
Photochemical solar energy conversion in molecular electronic materials used as photocatalysts follows an analogous pathway to photovoltaic energy conversion in organic solar cells. In both cases generation of a localized excited state by photon absorption is followed by exciton dissociation to generate a sequence of charge separated species. However, whilst photovoltaic energy conversion is now relatively efficient, photochemical energy conversion using polymer photocatalysts involves significant energy losses. We will use a common framework to analyse the behaviour and performance of photovoltaic and photochemical energy conversion systems based on organic semiconductors. We use experimental measurements and simulation to investigate how chemical structure and environment influence the energy conversion process in a variety of model materials systems. We will attempt to identify the factors limiting photochemical energy conversion in these sytems.