Ultra- High Solar Conversion Efficiency for Solar Fuels and Solar Electricity via Multiple Exciton Generation in Quantum Dots Coupled with Solar Concentration

A method of photoconversion comprising:

• providing a semiconductor region comprising nanostructures of a crystalline material;
• providing one or more optical elements configured to concentrate sunlight in the semiconductor region;
• and
• illuminating the semiconductor region with concentrated sunlight causing the generation of multiple excitons per photon absorbed by the crystalline nanostructures.

A method of producing a fuel comprising:

• providing a semiconductor region comprising nanostructures of a crystalline material;
• providing one or more optical elements configured to concentrate sunlight in the semiconductor region;
• illuminating the semiconductor region with concentrated sunlight causing the generation of multiple excitons per photon absorbed by the crystalline nanostructures;
• dissociating an exciton to form free carriers;
• collecting the free carriers as a photogenerated current;
• and
• driving an endoergic electrochemical oxidation-reduction fuel producing reaction with the photogenerated current.