Prospects for solar synthesis

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Abstract
Natural sunlight is a powerful source of energy to carry out useful chemical re- actions. Polymers can be designed to control and catalyze important photochemical processes such as "artificial photosynthesis", production of h drogen peroxide, and removal of water contaminants such as polynuclear aromatics (€"A's7 and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB's). This paper describes preliminary explorations of ways to use the world's most abundant source of energy to power novel chemical processes by employing simple polymeric devices. Canada is a very large, cold country and Canadians have the dubious distinction of using more energy per capita than any other country in the world; and it is not just because of that cold climate. It is primarily due to the size of our vast country that stretches nearly 5000 miles from one side to the other and three thousand miles north and south. A large part of our energy budget is used in transportation, and as you probably know, the world is beginning to run out of the natural resources that sustain our industrial and technological society. The native people in Canada lived here for more than 10,000 years in a very creative relationship with their environment. Their energy systems were essentially all solar driven, that is, they used animals and plants, plants being the primary converter of solar energy and animals the secondary ones, and were able to survive without infringing on the environment in any ap- preciable way for thousands and thousands of years. Four hundred years a 0, the first European set- ments in North America. They also depended primarily on solar energy, that is, they used trees to build and heat their houses, they used animals and their own strong backs and legs for their propulsion mechanisms.