Polyoxometalate-based solar cells for water splitting

The design and assembly of redox active polyoxometalate clusters, and their potential as water oxidation catalysts is discussed. The activity of the clusters is placed into context with comparisons to other systems and routes to the design and solution control of the assembly of novel polyoxometalate clusters with the correct characteristics for catalysis is also presented. Building on these features, a potential new polyoxometalate-based device architecture is presented that combines redox active polyoxometalate clusters, using systems that have been shown to be good water oxidation catalysts or structural models for photosystem II, with large cationic dyes to produce microtubular architectures that can be deposited on transparent substrates. The combination of a range of highly redox and catalytically active polyoxometalates with a range of possible cationic dye candidates allows the development of modular device architectures that can be screened and developed as potential new solar fuel cells.