Progress in Development of Photocatalytic Processes for Synthesisof Fuels and Organic Compounds under Outdoor Solar Light

With photovoltaics becoming a mature, commerciallyfeasible technology, society is willing to allocate resources for developingand deploying new technologies based on using solar light. Analysis ofprojects supported by the European Commission in the past decadeindicates exponential growth of funding to photocatalytic (PC) andphotoelectrocatalytic (PEC) technologies that aim either at technologyreadiness levels (TRLs) TRL 1-3 or TRL > 3, with more than 75 Mio euro allocated from the year 2019 onward. This review provides a summary ofPC and PEC processes for the synthesis of bulk commodities such assolvents and fuels, as well as chemicals for niche applications. An overviewof photoreactors for photocatalysis on a larger scale is provided. The reviewrounds offwith the summary of reactions performed at lab scale under natural outdoor solar light to illustrate conceptualopportunities offered by solar-driven chemistry beyond the reduction of CO2and water splitting. The authors offer their vision of theimpact of this area of research on society and the economy