State-of-the-art and challenges towards a Molecular Solar Thermal (MOST) energy storage device

The current global energy scenario calls for the urgent replacement of fossil fuels for alternative, environmentally affordable, abundant and cheap energy sources. Among the different options available, MOlecular Solar Thermal (MOST) systems have emerged in the last few years as a promising alternative. While this technology has already shown great potential under lab conditions, some difficulties remain to be dealt with when it comes to its application in real devices. In this minireview, we briefly summarize the basic concepts of MOST systems and we focus on the critical problems yet to be solved to turn this technology into a real alternative for energy generation and storage. In this minireview, the recent advances and limitations of MOlecular Solar Thermal (MOST) energy storage technology are discussed, including a discussion of the photoisomerization and the catalytic back-conversion reactions.