Summary
Photocatalytic water splitting using transition metal oxides (TMOs) has the potential to play a key role in the sustainable large-scale production of hydrogen. Due to their activity, cost-effectiveness, and stability TMOs are viewed as attractive materials to catalyze water splitting by harnessing solar energy. A major challenge is effectively preventing the recombination of electrons and holes in the TMOs produced upon (solar) light absorption. While these charge recombination processes occur on the pico-to-nanosecond timescale, the whole water splitting process is almost 12 orders of magnitude slower! This huge difference urgently demands a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms and charge-driven chemical reactions involving electron transfer (reduction reaction) or hole transfer (oxidation reaction) that take place at the TMO semiconductor–liquid interface. In my WATER-X project I will investigate these sub-10-picoseconds processes at the interface of TMO nanoparticles in bulk water by using time-resolved femtosecond laser photoelectron spectroscopy by applying liquid microjet setup. The objective is to measure the early-time molecular intermediates and their associated electronic-structures, their lifetimes, energetics, photoelectron angular distributions, and decay mechanisms of the short-lived molecular intermediates. With this knowledge we can determine the exact mechanisms of light-induced water dissociation and will pave the way to manipulating light-induced interactions to the solid-aqueous interface for improving the efficiency of light-to-energy conversion. These novel experiments will be performed for four nanoparticle photocatalysts, hematite, titanium dioxide, cerium oxide, and nickel-iron-oxyhydroxide with manifold electronic-structure properties (bandgap, charge carrier dynamics, and energetics), which make them attractive for future applications.
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| Web resources: | https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101126299 |
| Start date: | 01-09-2024 |
| End date: | 31-08-2029 |
| Total budget - Public funding: | 1 998 125,00 Euro - 1 998 125,00 Euro |
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Original description
Photocatalytic water splitting using transition metal oxides (TMOs) has the potential to play a key role in the sustainable large-scale production of hydrogen. Due to their activity, cost-effectiveness, and stability TMOs are viewed as attractive materials to catalyze water splitting by harnessing solar energy. A major challenge is effectively preventing the recombination of electrons and holes in the TMOs produced upon (solar) light absorption. While these charge recombination processes occur on the pico-to-nanosecond timescale, the whole water splitting process is almost 12 orders of magnitude slower! This huge difference urgently demands a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms and charge-driven chemical reactions involving electron transfer (reduction reaction) or hole transfer (oxidation reaction) that take place at the TMO semiconductor–liquid interface. In my WATER-X project I will investigate these sub-10-picoseconds processes at the interface of TMO nanoparticles in bulk water by using time-resolved femtosecond laser photoelectron spectroscopy by applying liquid microjet setup. The objective is to measure the early-time molecular intermediates and their associated electronic-structures, their lifetimes, energetics, photoelectron angular distributions, and decay mechanisms of the short-lived molecular intermediates. With this knowledge we can determine the exact mechanisms of light-induced water dissociation and will pave the way to manipulating light-induced interactions to the solid-aqueous interface for improving the efficiency of light-to-energy conversion. These novel experiments will be performed for four nanoparticle photocatalysts, hematite, titanium dioxide, cerium oxide, and nickel-iron-oxyhydroxide with manifold electronic-structure properties (bandgap, charge carrier dynamics, and energetics), which make them attractive for future applications.Status
SIGNEDCall topic
ERC-2023-COGUpdate Date
12-03-2024
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