Artificial photosynthesis for solar fuels production is considered to be an energy disruptive technology in the future, which can fundamentally change the current situation of excessive utilization on fossil fuels. In addition, artificial photosynthesis is an interdisciplinary science involving many fields such as chemistry, physics, materials and biology, and is also a key scientific problem in fundamental science that attracts increasing worldwide interest. In this paper we briefly introduce the concept and key reactions of artificial photosynthesis and focus on the discussion of scalable solutions to solar hydrogen production via water splitting and corresponding technical feasibility analysis. Then we present an introduction and technique routes of liquid solar fuels (e. g. methanol), as well as their potential applications. Finally, we propose a feasible solution to mimick natural artificial process via the coupling of ‘light reaction’ and ‘dark reaction’ for large-scale solar fuels production.

artificial photosynthesis  /  solar hydrogen production via water splitting  /  solar fuels