SENECA Talk: Organic Semiconductor Bulk Heterojunctions for Direct Solar-Driven Water Splitting
SENECA Talks is a monthly seminar series on Solar ENErgy Conversion and StorAge organised by EnergyVille/imec/UHasselt (imo-imomec).
The upcoming Seneca Talk will be given by Professor Kevin Sivula, Laboratory for Molecular Engineering of Optoelectronic Nanomaterials, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland
Abstract
The development of robust and inexpensive light harvesting material systems that operate at high efficiency are needed to make the direct solar-to-fuel energy conversion by photoelectrochemical (PEC) or heterogeneous photocatalytic (PC) approaches economically viable. Organic semiconductors are emerging as promising materials given their molecular tunability and scalable processability. The bulk heterojunction (BHJ) concept, which has been successfully developed for organic semiconductor-based photovoltaic devices, offers a promising route to high-performance and inexpensive photocatalyst nanoparticles for solar hydrogen production. However, the suitability organic semiconductors (OSs) towards robust and high efficiency photocatalytic water splitting remains an open question. Herein, efforts to understand the stability of OS-based BHJ photoelectrodes for both solar driven water reduction [1] and oxidation [2] are discussed. The integration of a BHJ photoanode and photocathode into a bias-free solar-driven water splitting device [3] and using the BHJ in novel porous photoelectrodes [4] and a detailed investigation into charge carrier dynamics are also reported [5]. Finally, the important aspects needed for translating these systems into nanoparticle photocatalysts dispersions are examined including the importance of controlling the in-situ co-catalyst deposition [6] and tuning the nanoparticle size.
Biography
Originally from the United States, Prof. Sivula studied chemical engineering at the Universities of Minnesota (Twin Cities), and California (Berkeley), before joining EPFL. He was appointed Assistant Professor in 2011, Associate Professor in 2018, and Full Professor in 2024. He directs the Laboratory for molecular engineering of optoelectronic nanomaterials (LIMNO), which focuses on developing materials and systems for solar energy harvesting and related applications, and teaches courses in transport phenomena and chemical product design.
Website: http://limno.epfl.ch/
Talk details
2nd May 2025, 3 – 4.30 PM (Online) Registration required.
Registration link : Click here
Contact
Sudhanshu.Shukla@imec.be
