Quantum Quest for Sustainable Energy

The harnessing of sunlight to satisfy our energy needs currently suffers from two problems: cost and storage. ICTP physicist Ralph Gebauer suggests in the latest issue of Europhysics News, the magazine of the European Physical Society, that quantum chemistry can play an important role in overcoming these challenges.

In particular, Gebauer, who studies nanoscience-based solar cells in search of alternatives to the traditional, silicon-based solar cells, proposes that interdisciplinary research teams could use atomic-scale theoretical modelling as a tool to develop new, affordable, efficient materials. Central to these efforts is the field of chemistry, he says, because "progress in the development of a new device must be accompanied by the design and synthesis of corresponding functional materials."

The article, titled "Sustainable energy: How quantum chemistry can help", appears in Volume 42, number 6 of Europhysics News and is available as a PDF document online.