Chemistry and

Modern Living
ABCT 1D01/ 1301
Dr. Wing-Leung Wong
Office: Y820 Tel: 3400-8871
Email: wing.leung.wong@connect.polyu.hk

1
Energy for Today and Tomorrow

2
 Molecules in Motion
❖ A burn is the transfer of energy (too much of it for
comfort) from a hot object to the human body.
❖ The atoms and molecules are in constant motion.
❖ The hotter an object is, the faster its molecules move.

3
Fundamental Concepts
❖ Heat is the flow of energy due to a
temperature difference.
❖ Energy, and our use of it, is
ultimately tied to molecular
motion.
❖ We use energy to move atoms and
molecules in a nonrandom, or orderly,
motion.
❖ This use of energy is called WORK.
❖ In physics, work is the energy transferred
to or from an object via the application of
force along a displacement.

4
Reliance on Energy
Without it,
our most common tasks become impossible.

5
Reliance on Energy

6
7
Global energy consumption (2002)

https://yearbook.enerdata.net/total-energy/world-consumption-statistics.html
8
Global energy consumption (2022)

https://yearbook.enerdata.net/total-energy/world-consumption-statistics.html
9
Energy Related Terms
❖ Energy: The capacity to do work
❖ Total energy of an object: The sum of its kinetic energy
(motion) and its potential energy (position)
❖ Work: A force acting over a distance
❖ Thermal energy: The energy associated with the
temperature of an object
❖ Thermodynamics: The study of energy and its
transformation from one form to another
❖ System: The subject we are thermodynamically studying
❖ Surroundings: The environment with which the system is
exchanging energy

10
 Potential and Kinetic Energies
❖ Chemical and physical
changes are accompanied by
changes in energy.
❖ Total Energy is the sum of the
kinetic and potential energies.
TE = KE + PE
❖ Kinetic Energy: Energy of
motion
❖ Potential Energy: Energy of
position

11
The First Law of Thermodynamics
❖ Energy can be neither created nor destroyed, only
transferred between the system and surroundings.

• In physics and chemistry, the law of conservation of energy states that

the total energy of an isolated system remains constant
• An exception occurs in nuclear processes where mass and energy are
interchangeable as E = mc2.

12
Implications of the First Law
❖ We cannot create energy that is not there to begin with;
a device that continuously produces energy, without the
need for energy input, cannot exist.

You cannot get something for nothing.

Learning is a good example!!
13
Is it possible to build a perpetual motion machine?

❖ A perpetual motion machine violates the First Law of

Thermodynamics by creating more energy than it possessed
at the beginning.
❖ The energy of a system is constant, it can never be
created or destroyed (Conservation of Energy).
❖ Energy is transformed from one form to another between
the system and its surroundings.

The answer is NO!! And we need search for

sustainable energy for the future.

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The Second Law of Thermodynamics
❖ Energy is dispersed (spreads out) (becomes
arranged in a more disorderly way) in any
spontaneous process.

❖ For any spontaneous process, the entropy of the

universe (the entirety of any system and its
surroundings) must increase.

❖ Entropy is central to the second law of

thermodynamics, which states that the entropy of an
isolated system left to spontaneous evolution cannot
decrease with time. As a result, isolated systems
evolve toward thermodynamic equilibrium, where
the entropy is highest.

❖ A consequence of the second law of thermodynamics

is that certain processes are irreversible.

15
Does freezing of water to ice at 0 oC violate
the Second Law of Thermodynamics?
The answer is absolutely No!!! But why??

❖ Although the entropy of the water is decreases as it

freezes, it releases heat in the process.
❖ The heat released as ice forms is transferred to the
molecules around it, thus increasing the entropy of the
universe.
16
Implication of the Second
Law
• No spontaneous process can be
100% efficient with respect to
energy.

17
 Nature’s Heat Tax
❖ Nature takes a heat tax, an unavoidable cut of every
energy transaction; additional energy is lost to the
surroundings as well due to inefficiencies.

❖ No perpetual motion machines

❖ Lesson: Minimize the number of energy

conversions required to achieve a
particular goal
We cannot break even !

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Units of Energy
❖ Joule (J)
James Joule demonstrated that energy could be converted
form one form to another as long as total energy was
conserved.
❖ Calorie (cal)
The amount of energy required to heat 1 g of water by 1°C

19
Power
❖ Power is energy per unit time, the rate of energy input or
output.
❖ Basic unit for the expression of power is the watt (W),
equivalent to 1 J/s.

20
Exercise
A refrigerator consumes 815 W.
(a) Calculate how many kilowatt-hours (kWh) the refrigerator consumes
per month if it operates 4.50 hours per day, collectively.
(b) If electricity costs $0.150 per kilowatt-hour, what is the monthly cost of
operating the refrigerator?
First convert the watts to kilowatts.
Then, calculate how many hours the appliance runs in a month.
Finally, the kilowatt-hours are calculated by multiplying the watts
consumed by how many hours the appliance runs.
1 kW
815 W  = 0.815 kW
1000 W
4.50 h 30 day
 = 135 h/month
1 day 1 month

0.815 kW  135 h = 110. kWh

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Solution
Finally, to calculate the monthly cost of running a this
refrigerator, multiply the kilowatt-hours consumed in a
month by the price:

$0.150
110. kWh  = $16.50
kWh

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Do you know how much per KWh charged in
Hong Kong?
According to government statistics in 2023, the CLP Power customers,
• Kowloon and New Territories residents to pay about HK$1.55 per kilowatt-hour,
• and those living on Hong Kong Island around HK$2 per kilowatt-hour.

23
Temperature
❖ A measure of the kinetic energy
associated with the motion of
the material’s composite atoms
and molecules.
❖ Measured on different scales
❖ Fahrenheit
❖ Celsius
❖ Kelvin

24
Exercise: Converting -10°F to Kelvin.
A 2-step calculation:

• Firstly, converting -10°F to Kelvin, we must first convert °F to °C:

o
C = 5/9[ o F - 32]
o
C = 5/9[-10 o F - 32] = -23 o C
• Next, convert from °C to Kelvin:

K = o C + 273
K = -23 o C + 273 = 250 K

25
 Heat Capacity
❖ Heat capacity is the quantity of heat
energy required to raise the
temperature of a given amount of a
substance by certain units.
❖ Specific heat capacity of a substance is
the amount of energy required to raise
the temperature of 1 gram of the
substance by 1 °C (also in Kelvin).
❖ Substances with higher heat capacities
resist changes in temperature more
than other substances.
❖ The heat capacity of water is integral
to global temperature regulation.

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Temperature Changes: Heat Capacity
❖ Heat capacity: The quantity of heat (usually in joules) required
to change the temperature of a given amount of the substance
by certain degree °C (also in Kelvin).
❖ When the amount of the substance is expressed in grams, the
heat capacity is called the specific heat capacity (or specific heat)
and has units of joules per gram per degree Celsius, J/g°C (also in
Kelvin).
❖ Latent heat is defined as the
heat or energy that is absorbed
or released during a phase
change of a substance. It could
either be from a gas to a liquid
or liquid to a solid and vice
versa. Latent heat is related to a
heat property called enthalpy.

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Specific heat capacity for several substances
Water has the highest specific
heat capacity on the list.

28
Energy and Heat Capacity Calculations
The equation that relates these quantities is

❖ q is the amount of heat in joules.

❖ m is the mass of the substance in grams.
❖ C is the specific heat capacity in joules per gram
per degree Celsius.
❖ T is the temperature change in Celsius.
❖ The symbol Δ means the change in, so ΔT
means the change in temperature.
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Relating Heat Energy to Temperature Changes
Gallium (Ga) is a solid at 25.0 °C but melts at 29.9 °C
❖ If you hold gallium in your
hand, it melts from your Given:
body heat. 2.50 g gallium (m)
Ti = 25.0 °C
Tf = 29.9 °C
❖ How much heat must 2.5 g of C = 0.372 J/g°C
gallium absorb from your
hand to raise its temperature Find: q
from 25.0 °C to 29.9 °C? Solution Map

❖ The specific heat capacity of

gallium is 0.372 J/g °C.

❖ latent heat of pure Ga is 85

J/g for melting.
30
Relating Heat Energy to Temperature Changes
Gallium is a solid at 25.0 °C but melts at 29.9 °C.

An additional 212.5 J (85 J/g x 2.5 g) would be needed to melt (latent heat) 2.5 g of
gallium once it reaches the melting point.
Total Heat Energy = 4.557 + 212.5 = 217.057 J

31
Energy for Our Society

32
Energy Consumption

33
Energy Consumption

34
Fossil Fuels
including oil, coal and natural gas, are non-renewable resources that
formed when prehistoric plants and animals died.

❖ Natural gas: Mixture of methane and ethane

❖ Petroleum: Hydrocarbon range from 5 to about 18

carbons or even more

❖ Coal: Chains and rings containing upwards of 200

carbons

❖ The molecules that compose fossil fuels contain a

large amount of energy because they were formed by
endothermic reactions.

35
 Fuels and Sunlight
❖ Plants used the sunlight energy to synthesize energetic
molecules.

❖ Photosynthesis, yields
glucose, which was ultimately
converted to fossil fuels by
processes taking millions of
years.

❖ Combustion, the opposite of

photosynthesis, releases the
energy.

36
Write a balanced chemical equation for the combustion of
heptane (C7H16), a common component in hydrocarbon fuels.

• The unbalanced equation:

C7H16 + O2 → CO2 + H2O
• First, balance the elements present in only one compound on
each side of the equation.
C7H16 + O2 → 7CO2 + H2O 7 C’s on each side
C7H16 + O2 → 7CO2 + 8H2O 16 H’s on each side
• Balance the element present as a free element last.
C7H16 + 11O2 → 7CO2 + 8H2O 10 O’s on each side
• Final balanced equation:
C7H16 + 11O2 → 7CO2 + 8H2O
Note: The absence of coefficient in front of a reactant or
product implies a “1”.
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Average Bond Energy
Bond Energy (kJ / mol)
C-H 416
O=O 498
C=O 803
O-H 467
C-C 356
H-H 436
C-O 336
C=C 598
Energy of fossil fuels is stored in chemical bonds

Endothermic process: breaking chemical bonds of the fuel molecules and O2

Exothermic process: bond formation in carbon dioxide and water

38
Chemistry and Energy
❖ Exothermic reactions
• Chemical reactions that give off energy to the
surroundings
❖ Endothermic reactions
• Chemical reactions that absorb energy from the
surroundings
❖ Enthalpy of reaction (ΔHrxn)
• The amount of heat absorbed or released by a chemical reaction
• Refers to the enthalpy change from the point of view of the
system
• By convention, negative enthalpy values describe
exothermic reactions, and positive values describe
endothermic ones.

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 Enthalpy of Combustion
Fuels have significant exothermic enthalpies of combustion
(ΔHcom).

40
How much energy in kilocalories is emitted by the
complete combustion of 100 g of isooctane
(C8H18)? (Note: ΔHrxn = -36 kJ/g C8H18.)
• The conversion factor between mass and energy is the heat of
combustion.
• The negative sign indicates that the reaction is exothermic
(energy is emitted).
-36 kcal
100 g isooctane  = -3.6  103 kcal
1 g isooctane

41
Petroleum
❖ Crude petroleum is a complex
mixture of hydrocarbons
❖ Actual composition varies with
locations
❖ Crude petroleum does not have a
constant boiling points, and cannot
be used directly
❖ The crude is heated by a furnace
and is sent to a distillation tower,
where it is separated by boiling
point. Then the material is
converted by heating, pressure or a
catalyst into finished products
including fuels like gasoline and
diesel, and specialty products like
asphalt and solvents.
42
 Petroleum Refining
❖ Fractional distillation
❖ Components in the crude petroleum are
separated by their boiling points
❖ The crude oil is first heated at 400 oC to
produce a hot vapor of mixtures, and
condense at various points along the tower
Fraction Size range Uses
gas C1-C4 Gas fuels
Straight-run gasoline C5-C12 Motor fuel
Kerosene C12-C16 Jet fuel
Diesel C16-C18 Diesel fuel
Lubricants C18-C20 Lubricating oil
Paraffin wax C20-C40 Candles, wax paper
Asphalt > C40 Road asphalt, roofing tar
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Octane Rating
❖ Octane ratings are measures of fuel stability. These ratings are based on the pressure
at which a fuel will spontaneously combust (auto-ignite) in a testing engine.
❖ The burning properties depends on the structure of the hydrocarbons
❖ The octane rating is an arbitrary scale for rating the relative knocking properties of
gasoline
❖ Knocking arises from uncontrolled combustion of the fuel
❖ Heptane burns with considerable knocking, and assigned octane number = 0
❖ Isooctane burns smoothly without knocking, octane number assigned to be 100
❖ Octane rating of a fuel can be increased by increasing the percentage of branched-
chain hydrocarbons, or adding octane enhancers

44
Octane numbers of some hydrocarbons
and gasoline additives
Hydrocarbon name Octane number
Octane -20
heptane 0
Pentane 62
1-Pentene 91
Isooctane (2,2,4-trimethylpentane) 100
Benzene 106
Methanol 107
Ethanol 108
tertiary-Butyl alcohol 113
Methyl tertiary-butyl ether 116
para-Xylene 116
Toluene 118
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Catalytic Reforming
❖ Catalytic reforming is used to increase the octane number by
converting straight-chain hydrocarbons to branched-chain
hydrocarbons and aromatics
❖ Catalyst (e.g. Pt) finely divided on an alumina support
H2 H2
H3C C CH3 H3C C
catalyst H
C C C CH3
H2 H2

pentane CH3
(octane number = 62) 2-Methylbutane
(octane number = 94)

H2 H2
C C CH3
catalyst
H3C C C H2
H2 H2

hexane
(octane number = 25) benzene
(octane number = 106)

46
Catalytic Cracking
❖ Catalytic cracking breaks down higher
hydrocarbons into lower hydrocarbons
❖ Zeolite catalyst

Zeolites are a group of materials, based on

silica, aluminum, phosphorus and oxygen,
that have structures based on
interconnecting cavities and channels

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Oxygenated and Reformulated Gasoline

❖ MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether, CH3OC(CH3)3) was

the additive of choice by the oil companies.
❖ MTBE is a compound that does not biodegrade
readily.
❖ MTBE made its way into drinking water through
gasoline spills at gas stations, from boat motors, and
from leaking underground storage tanks.
❖ Ethanol (C2H5OH), made from the fermentation of
grains, is now used as a substitute for MTBE to increase
oxygen content in motor fuel.
❖ Ethanol was not used originally because it was more
expensive.

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49

Let’s have a 15 min break!

Natural Gas
❖ Natural gas is a mixture of gases trapped with petroleum in Earth’s
crust and is recoverable from oil wells
❖ Light hydrocarbons (C1 – C4): methane (60-90%), ethane (5-9%),
propane (3-18%) and butane (1-2%)
❖ Considered as clean fossil fuel
❖ Less CO2 emission than liquid
fuel
❖ Natural gas powered vehicles
❖ Low carbon monoxide and
particulate emission
❖ Cylindrical pressurized
tank and limited service
stations
50
 Coal
❖ Coal is a complex mixture of high
molecular weight hydrocarbons that
are about 85% carbon by mass
❖ Usually contains small amount of
sulfur
❖ Coal has more fused rings of
carbon atoms, and very
complicated structure
❖ About 88% of coal is burned for
electricity production
❖ 91% of world known fossil fuel
reserves; natural gas + oil (9%)
❖ Enough for use for 200 years at the
current usage

51
Coal Gasification
❖ Crushed coal heated with
superheated steam
produces a mixture of CO
and H2 (syngas)
❖ Syngas used as fuels and
starting materials for
production of organic
compounds

52
 Electricity from Fossil Fuels
About 70% of U.S. electricity is generated by burning fossil
fuels.

53
Smog

Hydrocarbon combustion should only produce carbon dioxide and

water, but impurities in fuels and combustion inefficiencies produce
other products.
• Carbon monoxide: Binds with hemoglobin in blood, limiting
oxygen transport.

• Nitrogen oxides: NO emitted in exhaust undergoes chemistry to

form NO2, the brown gas that gives smog its characteristic color.

• Ozone and PAN: Partially burned hydrocarbons combine with NO2

and sunlight to form ozone (O3) and PAN (CH3CO2NO2), which sting
eyes, damage rubber and crops, and make breathing difficult.
54
Catalytic Converters
❖ Employs catalysts to promote the decomposition of
exhaust into less environmentally harmful substances.
❖ They address partially burned hydrocarbons,
carbon monoxide, and nitrogen monoxide.

55
Three-Way Catalyst Design
A three-way catalytic converter converts
three pollutants: hydrocarbons (HC), carbon
monoxide (CO) and nitrogen oxides (NOx)
into less harmful gases.
❖ The current three-way catalyst contains the
precious metals rhodium, platinum and (to a
lesser extent) palladium, ceria (CeO2), γ-
alumina (Al2O3), and other metal oxides.
❖ It typically consists of a ceramic monolith of
cordierite (2Mg.2Al2O3. 5SiO2) with strong
porous walls enclosing an array of parallel
channels.
❖ Cordierite is used because it can withstand
the high temperatures in the exhaust, and
the high rate of thermal expansion
encountered when the engine first starts –
typically, the exhaust gas temperature can
reach several hundred degrees in less than
a minute.
❖ The cordierite monolith is covered with
alumina-impregnated with metal catalysts to
increase surface are for catalytic oxidation
of the exhaust gases 56
Acid Rain
❖ Sulfur dioxide emission
• Fossil fuels contain sulfur
impurities.
• S + O2 → SO2
❖ Nitrogen monoxide and
nitrogen dioxide emission
These nonmetallic oxides form
• Air used in fossil fuel
combustion is mostly acids upon combination with
nitrogen. rain water that fall as acid rain,
• N2 + O2 → 2NO damaging lakes and streams,
building materials, and forests,
• 2NO + O2 → 2NO2
and limiting visibility.

57
 Global Warming
❖ The most important greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide.
❖ Water vapor also plays a part.

58
❖ The Earth’s atmosphere
is largely transparent to
visible wavelengths.
❖ Sunlight which warms
the Earth’s surface in the
daytime is reradiated at
night at longer infrared
wavelengths.

❖ Greenhouse gases in
the Earth’s atmosphere
absorb and scatter
radiation at differing
wavelengths. Notice
the largest absorption
band for carbon
dioxide is in the
infrared
59
Global Temperatures and CO2 Levels

60
Addressing Global Warming
Global temperature is projected to warm by about 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7° degrees
Fahrenheit) by 2050 and 2-4 degrees Celsius (3.6-7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2100.

https://climateactiontracker.org/global/temperatures/
https://climateactiontracker.org/global/cat-thermometer/ 61
Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement
The Kyoto Protocol required only developed countries to reduce emissions, while the Paris
Agreement recognized that climate change is a shared problem and called on all countries
to set emissions targets.

62
Concept Summary
Molecular Concept Societal Impact
❖ Energy ❖ We use energy in our
daily lives.
❖ The transfer of energy
❖ Fossil fuels are not ideal
❖ Fossil Fuels and how because they can create
they are used smog and other
❖ The laws of byproducts that are
harmful to our health.
thermodynamics

63
 Hydroelectric Power
❖ Considered to be a form of
solar energy
❖ Clean, efficient, renewable
❖ Major limitation: small number
of dammable rivers in the U.S.
42% already have dams
❖ Also threats to marine life;
potential dam failure; and impact
on the river as a whole
❖ Main areas for growth:
developing nations

64
 Wind Power
❖ Another indirect form of solar
energy

❖ The sun heats air, which

expands and rises; cooler air
rushes in to fill the void,
creating wind that can turn a
turbine.

65
Advantages and Disadvantages of Wind Power
❖ Price is competitive with coal ❖ Unattractive
❖ Clean ❖ Uses lots of land
❖ Efficient ❖ Winds are intermittent
and uncontrollable
❖ Renewable
❖ Secondary energy
❖ Releases nothing into the source or storage
atmosphere mechanism is necessary

66
The Sun: Earth’s Ultimate Energy Source
❖ Provides more energy than we need to solve all of our energy
needs . . . but at low concentration
❖ Fossil fuels are hard to beat for concentrated energy content….but they
cause environmental problems
❖ Solar power works by converting energy from the sun into power.
There are two forms of energy generated from the sun for our use –
electricity and heat.

67
Solar Thermal Energy
❖ Concentrating and focusing the
sun’s rays with mirrors to
generate electricity
❖ Three designs
• Solar power towers ($0.12/kwh,
$0.07 for coal)
• Parabolic troughs ($0.12/kwh)
• Dish/engine ($0.09 to $0.12 per
kwh)
❖ Prices continue to drop
as technologies improve.
❖ The cost per kilowatt hour for
coal is $0.05.
68
Parabolic Troughs
❖ Troughs trap and focus sunlight onto a receiver pipe through
which flows synthetic oil.
❖ In a heat exchanger, water is heated to steam to turn a turbine.

69
 Dish/Engine
❖ Dish-shaped reflectors focus sunlight
onto a central receiver, which becomes
the heat source for a conventional
engine or turbine.

❖ Can be hybridized to use other fuels

when sunlight is insufficient for
operation.

70
Exercise
A parabolic trough with an active area of 30.0 m2 produces 3.5 kW of power.
The solar power falling on the active area was measured at 1.0 × 103 W/m2.
Calculate the percent efficiency of the trough?

• First calculate the solar power falling on the solar trough:

W
30.0 m 2  1.0  10 3 = 3.0  10 4 W
m2
1 kW
converting to kilowatts: 3.0  10 4 W  = 30. kW
1000 W

• Calculating efficiency:
power out
% efficiency =  100%
power in
3.5 kW
=  100% = 12%
30. kW 71
Converting Energy from the Sun into Electricity

❖ Power generation from solar PV increased by a record 270 TWh in 2022, up by

26% on 2021. Solar PV accounted for 4.5% of total global electricity generation.
❖ It remains the third largest renewable electricity technology behind hydropower
and wind.

72
Renewable Electricity Capacity Growth of Photovoltaics

73
Photovoltaic (PV) Energy
❖ PV cells found on watches and calculators are the
most familiar of solar technologies.
❖ The ultimate energy source (besides the sun) because
there are no moving parts, no noise, and no pollution
during their operation.
❖ They are made from semiconductors.

n-type p-type

74
 Energy Gaps BetweenValence and Conduction Bands
in Metals, Semiconductors and Insulators
To conduct electricity, a material must have partially filled bands, known as conduction band
Compounds with filled bands can be insulators or semiconductors, depending on the band gap

e-
e-

Element Band gap / kJ mol-1

Carbon (diamond) 527
Silicon 107
Germanium 65
Tin 7 75
 Doping of Semiconductors
Elements and compounds that normally are not conductors, but will conduct
electricity at elevated temperatures or when combined with a small amount of
certain other elements.
Si
[Ne]3s23p2

n-type semiconductor p-type semiconductor

donor impurities acceptor impurities
As B
[Ar]4s24p3 [Ne]3s23p1
76
 conduction band conduction band

small band gap

donor level

small band gap

acceptor level

valence band valence band

n-type semiconductor p-type semiconductor

donor impurities acceptor impurities

77
 PV Cell: Method of Operation
❖ An n-type silicon sample is brought
in contact with a p-type in what is a
called p-n junction.
❖ Light excites electrons and allows
them to flow from the n-side to the
p-side.
❖ These mobile electrons are forced
to travel through an external wire,
powering an appliance.
❖ Presently expensive and inefficient,
but cost is dropping dramatically and
a number of commercial applications
have been found.
78
Exercise
Suppose you are installing a 2500-W heat pump to cool and heat your
house and want to use PV cells to provide the power. The average
solar power is 1.0 ×103 W/m2 and the PV cells are 15% efficient. How
many square meters of PV cells are needed?
• 2500-W heat pump
• The average solar power is 1.0 × 103 W/m2.
• PV cells are 15% efficient.
• Input power needed based on 15% PV efficiency:
1W
2500 W  = 1.7  104 W
0.15 W
• Total area of PV cells required is:
m2
1.7  104 W  = 17 m2
1.0  103 W
79
Chlorophyll – catalyst for
Photosynthesis

•Macrocyclic structure
•Conjugated C=C bond
•Mg2+ cation (structure stabilization) 80
 electron A
vacant orbitals transfer
h

Chlorophyll captures light

filled orbitals energy to form reactive

chlorophyll
chemical species for
chlorophyll
Ground state Excited state
reactions….

 antibonding
A-
charge
separation
radical anion – reducing!!

 bonding

“hole” – oxidizing!!
chlorophyll cation 81
Photosynthesis
▪ Photosynthesis consists of two phases.
▪ Light dependent reaction (grana reaction or Hill reaction or Photochemical reaction or
Primary photochemical reaction)
▪ Dark reactions (light independent reaction or stroma reaction or Blackman’s reaction or
carbon-fixation reactions)
Light stage Dark stage

82
Artificial Leaf
(Science, 2008, 321, 1072)

Daniel G. Nocera
❖ In a photosynthesis-like process, the
silicon absorbs sunlight and passes
energetic, negatively charged
electrons and positively charged
electron vacancies to the catalysts
on opposite sides that use them to
make H2 and O2.
❖ The emitted gases could then be
stored in a fuel cell.

83
Green hydrogen (H2) as a Clean Energy Source
Green hydrogen (H2) is a clean energy source that only emits water vapor and leaves no
residue in the air, unlike coal and oil. Fuel cells work by combining hydrogen gas (H2) with
oxygen (O2) from the air — and the resulting chemical reaction produces electricity.

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 Photoelectric Effect h

Phenomenon in which electrons are ejected from KE e-

the surface of certain metals when exposed to
electromagnetic radiation.
Photon is a “particle” of light whose energy is related
to the energy of the ejected electron.

1
h =  + meu 2
2

energy of kinetic
energy to energy of
photon
extract electron
electron
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 Dye-sensitized photovoltaic cells
donor--acceptor dyes

H13C6 C6H13

N
H17C8 C8H17
O O
N N
Zn
N N
❖ Photoexcitation of dye is followed by electron H17C8
O O
C8H17
injection into the conduction band of the TiO2 film
❖ The dye is regenerated by a redox system (e.g.
I- / I3 couple)
CO2H

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 Solar Energy Storage
❖ Storage in the form of heat is easiest but of short duration.
❖ Batteries quickly increase the cost of the energy production
method.
❖ Every conversion means a loss of energy to surroundings.
❖ It is always more efficient to use electricity as it is generated.

Energy can be stored in chemical bonds.

❖ Solar energy can be used to decompose water and the
resulting hydrogen and oxygen gases stored.
❖ The combustion of hydrogen can be used at a later time to
liberate the energy.
❖ Nature’s heat tax will take some of this energy.

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 Biomass
❖ Energy stored in plant material during photosynthesis
can be liberated when the plants are burned.
Sunlight + 6CO2 + 6H2O C6H12O6 + 6O2

❖ Plants can be burned

• Directly (fast-growing plants)
• After fermentation (typically as ethanol)

Yeast
C6H12O6 + 6O2 2CH3CH2OH + 2CO2

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Biomass: Advantages and Disadvantages
❖ Advantages
• Exact balance between CO2 absorbed while the plant
is grown and the CO2 emitted when burned.
• Plants can be burned directly or converted to ethanol,
a fuel that is easily transported and burns cleanly.
❖ Disadvantages
• Large land areas required
• Competition between food crops and biomass for fuel
use drives the prices for food higher.
• Fossil fuels are still required for agriculture and
processing biomass to fuel.

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Geothermal Power
❖ Heat from Earth’s interior is used to generate steam to turn
a turbine.
• In rare cases, steam from the earth is used directly.

❖ Disadvantages include:
• Limited availability
• Spent-steam disposal
• Contains sulfurous
gases and ammonia

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Nuclear Power
❖ Heat from controlled fission
can be used to convert water
to steam and turn a turbine.

❖ The growth of U.S. nuclear

power plants has been halted
due to negative public opinion.

❖ Some European countries

generate as much as 50% of
their power from nuclear power
plants.

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92
Advantages and Disadvantages of Nuclear Power

❖ No smog production ❖ Radioactive waste

❖ No CO2 emissions ❖ Need supply of U-235
❖ Breeder reactors ❖ Public fear of accidents and
increase reserves concerns over waste
by 100 times disposal have halted growth
in the U.S.
❖ Reduced energy
costs

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Current nuclear plants consume around 67,000 tons of high-grade uranium per year.
With present uranium deposits in the planet having been estimated at 4-5 million tons,
this means the present resources would last 42 years. By 2050, all proven and
undiscovered reserves of uranium will be over. 94
Breeder Reactors/Fusion
❖ Breeder reactors are a type of nuclear reactor which produce more fissile materials than
they consume. They are designed to extend the nuclear fuel supply for the generation
of electricity, and have even been mistakenly called a potential renewable
energy source.
❖ The most common breeding is of plutonium-239, which is bred through the following
process:

❖ Development of controlled nuclear fusion would make nuclear a very attractive source
of energy.
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Efficiency and Conservation
Conservation efforts coordinated with developing energy
technologies will help stabilize energy costs.

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The 2050 World
❖ Who is the real winner with respect to new
energy technologies?
❖ Types of power
• What types of power appear to be the most efficient?

❖ Global winners
• Cost to consumers
• Environmental concerns

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Concept Summary
Molecular Concept Societal Impact
❖ Solar power ❖ We are using all our fossil
fuels and must find
❖ Wind power alternative sources of
❖ Geothermal power energy.

❖ Nuclear power ❖ Every person can take part

in conservation while
staying aware of alternatives
as they develop.

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 ~End of Lecture~
Please let me know if you have questions.
Thank you for your attention!
Dr. WONG Wing-leung
Office: Y820
Email: wing.leung.wong@connect.polyu.hk

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