Another thread was discussing synthesis, here's a great example of what I like about synthesis:
http://www.nature.com/nmat/journal/vaop ... at2814.pdf
I'll have to dig more deeply into the article another time, but the abstract has me interested, the gist is something like this: use materials that can operate at higher temperatures than currently used PV materials, and then extract energy from the waste heat. Quantum + thermal energy conversion device.