Molecular Approaches to Renewable Energies

Particle-based PEC water splitting has the potential to produce solar hydrogen at a lower cost than fossil fuel-derived hydrogen, and is therefore a disruptive technology that could free us from a fossil fuel-based economy. However, new materials are needed to achieve the stability and efficiencies that are required for low cost hydrogen production. The first research theme of our group is the development of new thin film semiconductor materials, which could be adapted to particulate systems in future research. One promising material of our interest is Sb2Se3, a new material that we found is intrinsically stable in acidic solutions under full solar illumination. It is a strong candidate for a practical, scalable photocathode material if the efficiency can be improved.