New Paths in Advanced Solar Hydrogen Materials

Purdue University, West Lafayette IN

Investigators

Abstract

This award by the Solid State Materials Chemistry program in the Division of Materials Research to Purdue University is to design and develop advanced photocatalytic materials based on anion-doped semiconductor metal-oxides of Indium and Tungsten for solar hydrogen production from water. Nanoparticles and thin films of these doped semiconductor metal-oxides will be synthesized and characterized by the following three experimental protocols: a) spray pyrolysis in which molecular precursors are mixed and cured in situ on an electrode surface, allowing a wide variety of molecular precursors; b) sol-gel process that will allow in situ analysis by liquid state NMR and UV/Vis to obtain detailed information on the bonding and coordination of the metal-ion and dopant species complexes; and c) electrochemical methods. Solid-state characterization methods including solid-state NMR, ESR, XPS, XRD and UV-Vis will be used to characterize the chemical and electronic environment of the hosts and dopant species in the nanoparticle and thin film materials. Evaluation of the doped metal oxides using photoelectrochemical methods will probe the size of activation barriers to water splitting, and measure the efficiency of the materials. The results from these experiments will provide vitally needed information on the electronic, structural, morphological, and kinetic parameters important for improving semiconductor nanoparticles for water splitting. The development of new materials for an efficient solar hydrogen production from water for energy use could have far-reaching societal impact. The proposal also seeks to train students ? high school, undergraduate and graduate - in a unique combination of advanced instruments and characterization methods such as solid state NMR, ESR, XPS, XRD, UV-vis, and other materials chemistry protocols. Graduate and undergraduate students involved in this research will gain a broad education working in this effort to understand important issues in materials and surface chemistry. Finally, the proposed research will impact the PI?s teaching efforts in General Chemistry where he is introducing a new thematic approach to the subject over the course of the semester. Results will also be disseminated to smaller universities and colleges, and general public.