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| Photoelectrochemical setup to evaluate solar hydrogen conversion materials. |
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| Schematic approach for the synthesis, characterization and evaluation of the photoactive materials. |
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Solar hydrogen conversion represents a potentially limitless energy source that would revolutionize our approach to energy. However, the discovery of new, more efficient photocatalysts for water splitting is still very challenging. Wide band-gap semiconductors, such as TiO2, are the most promising materials in the field of solar hydrogen conversion due to their good stability and catalytic activity, but their poor visible light absorption represents a major problem. To reduce the band-gap, anion-doped TiO2-xAx materials are prepared in our lab, where A (=C, N, or P) can either substitute for oxygen in the titania lattice or be present in interstitial sites. In order to develop better materials for solar energy applications, in-depth photoelectrochemical and spectroscopic characterization of anion-doped metal oxide materials is being conducted. In particular, our lab specializes in characterizing dopant species using solid-state NMR.
[More on Photocatalysis ]
[More on Solar Hydrogen Conversion]
Our other research interests are focused on the chemistry of surfaces and the study of advanced materials, primarily through the use of new high sensitivity and high resolution solid-state NMR techniques. NMR methods are enormously useful for determining the structure of bulk materials. Surface species, however, are typically outnumbered 99 to 1 or more by bulk atoms, and thus NMR's capabilities in characterizing surface chemistry are restricted to high surface area materials. New laser-based methods have been shown to create enormous enhancements (over 30,000 times or more) in the NMR signal of xenon atoms, whose polarization can be transferred to surface nuclei to selectively enhance the surface signal. We have been able to further enhance the xenon atoms by re-introducing the polarized xenon back into the polarization cell and not only increasing the overall available polarization of the xenon, but also conserving the xenon gas.
[More on Optical Pumping -]
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| 3-electrodes PEC illuminated with a sunlight simulator. |
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| Chemistry lab: Preparation of electrodes for solar hydrogen conversion. |
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