Energy and Inorganic Chemistry

World demand for energy is projected to more than double by 2050 and to more than triple by the end of the century. Finding sufficient supplies of clean energy for the future is one of society's most important challenges. Sunlight provides by far the largest of all carbon-neutral energy sources. Solar energy conversion systems fall in three categories according to their primary energy product: solar electricity, solar fuels and solar thermal systems. Inorganic chemistry has played a fundamental role in the design of materials and molecular systems for solar energy conversion to electricity and for the production of solar fuels. This chapter will cover the basic principles and some of the relevant contributions of Inorganic Chemistry to the design of systems for solar energy conversion to electricity, of molecular level energy conversion devices, and of photoelectrochemical devices for hydrogen production.