Professor Gerald Meyer of the University of North Carolina

"Hybrid Photoelectrodes for Fuel Production"

A new solar Hub entitled the Center for Hybrid Approaches in Solar Energy to Liquid Fuels, or CHASE, was launched in September of 2020.1 The mission of CHASE is to develop molecule/material hybrid photoelectrodes for cooperative sunlight-driven generation of O2 and liquid fuels from CO2, H2O, and N2. Emphasis is placed on molecular catalysts integrated with semiconducting materials with precisely controlled microenvironments created around the catalysts. There is a vast, mostly unexplored space at the intersection between molecular catalysts and heterogeneous materials, presenting unique opportunities for advances in photocatalytic durability and product selectivity. CHASE is guided by the overarching hypothesis that the challenge of liquid solar fuel production can only be met through the cooperative interactions of molecules and materials. This hypothesis derives from observations suggesting that neither heterogeneous materials alone nor homogeneous molecular catalysts alone have proven to be sufficient and that untapped opportunities for cooperativity exist at this interface. This seminar will describe CHASE’s most recent advances in the quest for hybrid photoelectrodes that will enable the realization of practical solar fuels.

1. A Vision for Sustainable Energy: The Center for Hybrid Approaches in Solar Energy to Liquid Fuels (CHASE). Dempsey, J.L.; Heyer, C.M.; Meyer, G.J. Electrochem. Soc. Interface 2021, 30, 65-68.