Educational Resources

Hands-On Activities

See our Outreach page for descriptions of hands-on activities developed by our group and other researchers in the solar / electrochemical energy conversion fields.

Online References

Interested in learning more about solar and (photo)electrochemical energy conversion?  Here are some excellent resources to get you started:

Electrochemistry Articles and Resources

• Materials Project interactive Pourbaix Diagrams.
• Generate Pourbaix Diagrams with KTH’s freely available Medusa software.
• K. Harrison & J. Levene, “Electrolysis of Water” in Solar Hydrogen Generation, Springer, (2007), pp 41-63.  Nice overview of alkaline and PEM electrolyzers for hydrogen production from water electrolysis.
• C. Xiang, K. M. Papadantonakis, & N. S. Lewis, “Principles and implementations of electrolysis systems for water splitting“, Materials Horizons, 3 (2016), 169. A shorter but more recent overview of water electrolyzer technologies.
• Handbook of Secondary Storage Batteries and Charge Regulators in Photovoltaic Systems (free)
• Department of Energy commissioned Fuel Cell Handbook (7th Ed., 2004). It’s a little out-dated but provides nice summaries of various types of fuel cells.

 

Solar Articles and Resources

• PVCDROM, a freely-available  online textbook on solar photovoltaic technology. This textbook and the associated animations and calculators are a great resource for both beginners and more experienced solar researchers.
• “The History of Solar Energy” – Put together by the US Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), this time line lists major developments in solar technology.
• Reference Solar Spectral Irradiance. This site is hosted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and allows you to download reference solar spectra (e.g. Air Mass 1.5G spectrum) that are commonly used to model the performance of solar cell materials.
• Solar simulator tools on NanoHub. This National Science Foundation (NSF)-sponsored website hosts a number of simulator tools relating to solar energy conversion, including tools for simulating the performance of solar panels, analyzing current-voltage curves for solar cells, and predicting the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). The software used for these simulators is all hosted on the Hub, so you shouldn’t need to download any software onto your computer.
• Read about the Solar Impulse 2 and its flight around the world using nothing but solar energy.

Photoelectrochemistry / Solar Fuels Articles and Resources

• “Turning Sunlight Into Fuel”  A discussion about solar fuels technology between Prof. Esposito and a science writer from the Earth Institute.
• DOE’s homepage on photoelectrochemical water splitting
• Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting Standards, Experimental Methods, and Protocols. Great resource for anybody looking to start doing research in the field of photoelectrochemistry.
• White papers on materials for photoelectrochemical water splitting. Series of short white papers written by members of the DOE PEC working group that summarize past results and current challenges in the development of different materials as photoelectrodes for photoelectrochemical water splitting. (Freely available)
• R. Memming, Semiconductor Electrochemistry, Wiley-VCH, (2001), pp. 399.  Comprehensive textbook on semiconductor electrochemistry. A newer edition is also now available.
• M. Tan, et al., “Principles and Applications of Semiconductor Photoelectrochemistry”, Progress in Inorganic Chemistry, 41 (2007).
• M. Walter, et al., “Solar Water Splitting Cells”, Chem. Rev., 110 (2010), 6446-6473. Comprehensive review article on photoelectrochemical cells for water splitting.
• B. Pinaud, et al., “Technical and economic feasibility of centralized facilities for solar hydrogen production via photocatalysis and photoelectrochemistry“, Energy & Environmental Science, 6 (2013), 1983-2002.
• 2015 Review articles in Energy & Environmental Science focus issue: Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting:Status of Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting: Past, Present, and Future Specific articles in the issue include:

  i.) “Methods for comparing the performance of energy-conversion systems for use in solar fuels and solar electricity generation”
ii.) “Interfacial band-edge energetics for solar fuels production”
iii.) “Particle suspension reactors and materials for solar-driven water splitting”
iv.) “Methods of photoelectrode characterization with high spatial and temporal resolution”
v.) “Experimental demonstrations of spontaneous, solar-driven photoelectrochemical water splitting”