(93f) Defects Engineering for Solar Fuel Harvesting Photoelectrodes | AIChE

(93f) Defects Engineering for Solar Fuel Harvesting Photoelectrodes

Authors 

Liu, M. - Presenter, Brookhaven National Laboratory
Driven by a strong desire for clean and renewable fuel, efficient methods for solar-to-fuel conversion have been sought after for a long time. Solar water splitting within a photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell, also known as artificial photosynthesis, is one of the most promising methods. To date the key problem remains how to maximize the conversion efficiency using low-cost, earth abundant materials. In this talk I will discuss multicomponent metal oxide photoelectrodes, in which one can independently optimize the photon absorption, charge carrier transport, and interfacial carrier transfer processes through defect engineering, for high efficiency water splitting. I will demonstrate that, through the development of photoelectrodes of highly crystalline metal oxides with carefully engineered bulk or surface defects, we are able to create synergy between the materials’ intrinsic electronic states and the defect states. The talk will also cover our most recent results on the study of photocatalyst surface layers, through synchrotron X-ray techniques such as X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES).