Science AMA Series: We’re chemists who are developing solar batteries
for the power grid. AUA!
Abstract
Hello! I’m Dr. Yiying Wu, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at THE
Ohio State University, and with me are doctoral students Mingzhe Yu and
Billy McCulloch. We want to make solar energy a reality for the power
grid. We work at the intersection of synthetic inorganic chemistry,
materials chemistry, and photoelectrochemistry to create devices that
are hybrids of solar panels and batteries: “solar batteries.” So far,
we’ve invented a solar air battery (a “breathing” battery that
releases oxygen when it’s charged by sunlight) and an aqueous solar flow
battery (which has an eco-friendly water-based electrolyte circulating
in it). We’ve seen you discuss our work on r/science, and we will be
back at 1pm ET to answer your questions, ask us anything! Solar air
battery (study) Aqueous solar flow battery (study) Dye-sensitized solar
cells (study) The Wu Group homepage Added: Proof Thanks, everyone! This
was pretty intense! But these questions can inspire us to think beyond
the scientific questions to the larger issues.