Efficient photocatalysis using Earth-abundant materials

The goal of this project is to develop sustainable photocatalytic devices that are scalable to an industry scale. The Photo-electric cells are based on silicon nanowires that are etched from stock silicon. We then enhance the optical absorption and protected them from corrosion by a number of different materials. This system is then activated using a co-catalyst for a wide variety of catalytic reactions. Among these reactions are the regeneration of biological co-factors such as NAD+/NADH or the oxidation/reduction of water.
The project includes synthesis of nanosamples, electrochemical characterization and optical and X-ray pump probe measurements for studying excited state dynamics. An essential process in this project is the transfer of multiple electrons to enable the catalytic reaction.

We create nanowires that use light and electricity to create high value chemicals.