Solar energy can be directly harvested to power thermodynamically uphill reactions that produce energetic chemicals, promising a large-scale energy storage and redistribution solution. To enable these reactions, we need materials that can absorb light, separate charges, and catalyze specific chemistries. The materials should be made of earth-abundant elements to allow for large-scale implementations. They also need to be resistant against photo corrosion. To date, a low-cost, long-lasting material that can produce solar fuels with an economically meaningful efficiency remains elusive. In this talk, we present our efforts aimed at understanding what limits the development of this important field. Within the context of photoanode and photocathode, we show how the photoelectrode properties are changed by introducing material components designed for improving charge transport, surface potential accumulation, and interface kinetics, respectively. Our results highlight the importance of separately understanding thermodynamic and kinetic factors in complex systems such as that for solar fuel production. Detailed knowledge generated by our research contributes to the goal of realizing low-cost, high-efficiency artificial photosynthesis.

Speaker(s): Prof. Dunwei Wang,

Location:
Room: Room 103 (Ground floor)
Bldg: Rutherford Building
McGill University
3600 University Street
Montreal, Quebec