Book Review: Light Harvesting NanoMaterials, Bentham e-Books, ISBN: 978-1-60805-959-1; e-ISBN: 978-1-60805-958-4
Authors: Allen Norman S. 
Published: July 2015

Light Harvesting NanoMaterials, Bentham e-Books,
ISBN: 978-1-60805-959-1;e- ISBN: 978-1-60805-958-4
Edited by Surya Prakash Singh The harvesting, capture and
efficient conversion of solar light energy into electrical and
heat energy through chemical and structural materials is now
a rapid and exciting field of significant advancement and
investigation in the scientific world. Many of these novel and
often complex materials can attain important developments
for many industrial outlets in energy transformation from
solar power. This book targets a number of key newly
developed nano-materials and consists in total of five
chapters each one compiled by authors who are experts in
that particular field and is edited by Surya Prakash Singh.
The book consists of a number of important topics many
developmental in the fields of organic/polymeric nano-materials which brings the reader up-to-date on many
important features. The first chapter covers recent
investigations covering the inter-locking and embedding of
inorganic transistion metal compound based nano-particles
onto solar panel surfaces as anti-reflective coatings in order
to enhance light absorption characteristics for effective
energy conversion. Silicon, titanium and silver compounds
in various nano-formats are highlighted. Here the properties
of the particles in harvesting light energy as a support and
their photochemistry provides many important answers to
questions in relation to the efficiencies of energy harnessing.
The efficiencies of these processes is examined
practically and theoretically in some depth with many very
well illustrated devices. Silver nano-particles were
particularly valuable and effective in this regard for
enhancing solar energy absorption. Nano-crystalline titanium
dioxide is a widely investigated material for solar energy
harnessing but its inefficiency in absorption like many
materials is a major deficiency. In chapter two, the use of
doped titanias utilising tetrapyrolic sensitisers and various
metal complexes for overcoming this problem is reviewed.
Here, the deficiencies of usual ruthenium complexes is
superseded via more effective porphyrins, phthalocyanines
and corroles and with enhanced coupling i.e. via zinc
significant energy conversions may be achieved. The next
chapter explores the behavior and properties of polymeric
materials as matrices for nano-composites where again
energy efficiency conversion is crucial in determining the role of the light induced physic-chemicalprocesses. In this
case the design of polymer based nanocomposites is widely
assessed and is proving to be one of the most interesting and
upcoming fields in solar energy harnessing. Of course, one
major setback in this area with organo-materials is
durability. In chapter four, one rather interesting area of
growing interest in utilising solar energy is that dealing with
gold and titania nanoparticles called “plasmonic
photocatalysts”. This important field has direct relevance to
photo-induced electrical and semiconductor processes aswell
as significance in the manufacture of photoelectrochemical
catalysts due to their broad visible absorption characteristics
and hence high efficiency. In this context, the formulation
and properties of the various catalysts can result in the
production of novel highly active material complexes with
high efficacy for oxidation of organic compounds. In the last
chapter C60-based solar cells with copper oxides, CuInS2,
phthalocyanines, diamond, porphyrin and exciton-diffusion
blocking layers have been fabricated and characterized for
use in energy efficient solar cell construction. High
efficiencies are observed in all these devices when utilized
with C60.
To summarize, this important edited text provides the
reader with a highly useful and valuable source of scientific
information which focuses on many important aspects of
development in light energy harvesting processes in both
fields of photochemistry and photophysics thus providing
many valuable ways forward for further scientific
development for the future in solar energy conversion and
photocatalysis. It makes interesting reading coupled with
many new ideas and is very well illustrated and certainly
provides a valuable reference source for chemists, physicists,
biologists and engineers working in the field in both
academia, government and industry, alike.