Profile
| Keywords: | Solar Fuels, Organic Chromophores/Photoredox Catalysts, Transition Metal Chromophores/Photoredox Catalysts, CO2 Conversion, Water Splitting, Photoelectrochemical Cells, Asymmetric Catalysis for Pharma/Fragrance Industries, NH3 Hydrogen Storage |
FES Funded ProjectsOutputs
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| Modular Construction of Water Oxidation Photoanodes by Covalent Bonding and Self-AssemblyDye-sensitized photoelectrochemical cells (DSPECs) convert the energy of visible light into chemical bonds through water splitting. We report a reliable method to attach 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) to ITO or TiO2 semiconductors by a C(5)-Osurface single covalent bond. Reaction between the surface phen and the corresponding Ru- or Ir- precursors formed the [Ru(bipy)2(phen)]2+ (bipy = 2,2'-bipyridine) or [Ir(ppy)2(phen)]+ (ppy = 2-phenylpyridine) chromophores grafted at C(5) to ITO or TiO2. We investigated the photoelectrochemical activity of these photoanodes with hydroquinone and triethylamine as sacrificial electron donors over a wide pH range (pH 1-13). The covalent C(5)-Osurface linkage is quite resistant to hydrolysis under basic conditions, unlike phosphonate acid groups.T12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2018-03-14 | Chao Wang, Mona Amiri, Octavio Martinez Perez, Bergens, S. | | Active, Stable, and Abundant Photocatalytic Materials for Hydrogen Fuels: Solar fuels by tandem photocatalysisSolar harvesting, conversion, and utilization are vital to the economy, environment, and society. It is essential to minimize the negative impact of fossil fuels, and to expand the development of renewables. Solar voltaics are key to achieving these goals.
We are developing hybrid photocatalytic cells that convert sunlight, water, and CO2 into high-energy fuels, or hydrogen. These fuels will help power a sustainable and carbon-neutral society.T12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2017-09-21 | Chao Wang, Octavio Martinez Perez, Mona Amiri, Bergens, S. | | Photoelectrochemical solar cells for water oxidation and CO2 reductionT12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2018-03-08 | Chao Wang, Octavio Martinez Perez, Mona Amiri, Bergens, S. | | Photoelectrochemical solar cells for water oxidation and CO2 reduction reactionsT12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2018-03-08 | Chao Wang, Octavio Martinez Perez, Mona Amiri, Bergens, S. | | Modular Construction of Photoanodes with Covalently Bonded Ru- and Ir-Polypyridyl Visible Light Chromophores1,10-phenanthroline is grafted to indium tin oxide (ITO) and titanium dioxide nanoparticle (TiO2) semiconductors by electroreduction of 5-diazo-1,10-phenanthroline in 0.1 M H2SO4. The lower and upper potential limits (−0.20 and 0.15 VSCE, respectively) were set to avoid reduction and oxidation of the 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) covalently grafted at C5 to the semiconductor. The resulting semiconductor-phen ligand (ITO-phen or TiO2-phen) was air stable, and was bonded to Ru- or Ir- by reaction with cis-[Ru(bpy)2(CH3CN)2]2+ (bpy = 2,2′-bipyridine) or cis-[Ir(ppy)2(CH3CN)2]+ (ppy = ortho-Cphenyl metalated 2-phenylpyridine) in CH2Cl2 and THF solvent at 50 °C. Cyclic voltammetry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, solid-state UV–vis, and inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry all confirmed that the chromophores SC-[(phen)Ru(bpy)2]2+ and SC-[(phen)Ir(ppy)2]+ (SC = ITO or TiO2) formed in near quantitative yields by these reactions. The resulting photoanodes were active and relatively stable to photoelectrochemical oxidation of hydroquinone and triethylamine under neutral and basic conditions.T12-P03 University of Alberta | Publication | 2018-07-03 | Chao Wang, Mona Amiri, Riley Endean, Octavio Martinez Perez, "Samuel Varley ", "Ben Rennie ", Loorthuraja Rasu, Bergens, S. | | Molecular Brick Building Sets for Chromophores and Catalysts for Solar-Powered Water Splitting and CO2 ReductionInvited Speaker at the 22nd International Conference on Past and Present Research Systems on Green Chemistry T12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2019-04-26 | Bergens, S., Mona Amiri, Octavio Martinez Perez, Riley Endean, Prabin Nepal, Jaya Pal, Jinkun Liu, "Shuai Xu " | | Shaping the Future of Energy/ Solar EnergyThe BERLIN SCIENCE WEEK is an international event that brings people from the world’s most innovative scientific institutions together in Berlin. It is dedicated to the dialogue between science and society to inspire a deeper understanding of our world.
In partnership with the Canadian Embassy in Berlin, Future Energy Systems hosted a special event exploring the future of energy in Canada and around the world. In this event, some of our leading research in solar, geothermal, bioenergy, land and water reclamation and system-wide assessments of energy was presented.
Also, a discussion panel was organized to debate success of global energy research partnerships, as well as the University of Alberta's successful research relationships in Germany with the Fraunhofer Society, Helmholtz Association and RWTHAachen.T12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2018-11-05 | Bergens, S., Mona Amiri, Octavio Martinez Perez, Jaya Pal, Riley Endean, Chao Wang | | Active, Stable, and Abundant Photocatalytic Materials for Hydrogen Fuels: Solar Fuels by Tandem PhotocatalysisPoster presentation summarizing the theory behind our researchT12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2018-10-03 | Chao Wang, Mona Amiri, Riley Endean, "Samuel Varley ", Benjamin E Rennie, Octavio Martinez Perez, Bergens, S. | | Modular construction of Ru- and Ir- chromophore photoanodes by covalent bonding and self-assemblyOral Presentation at Electrochemical Society Canadian section meetingT12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2018-05-26 | Mona Amiri, Chao Wang, Octavio Martinez Perez, Bergens, S. | | Skype a Scientist Program, 6th grade Students (John Knox Christian School)Skype session with elementary school students to help them get familiar with solar energy and solar fuels.T12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2018-10-31 | | | Solid-Phase Synthesis and Photoactivity of Ru-Polypyridyl Visible Light Chromophores Bonded Through Carbon to Semiconductor Surfaces1,10-phenanthroline (phen) was grafted to either indium tin oxide (ITO), fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO), or titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2) by electrochemical reduction of 5-diazo-phen. The phen ligand is bonded to the semiconductor (SC) at C5, and it can be handled in air. The semiconductor-phen (SC-phen) complexes displace both CH3CN ligands from either cis-[Ru(Mebipy)2(CH3CN)2]2+ (Mebipy = 4,4’-methyl 2,2’-bipyridine), cis-[Ru(tBubipy)2(CH3CN)2]2+ (tBubipy = 4,4’-tert-butyl 2,2’-bipyridine), or cis-[Ru(pheno)(bipy) (CH3CN)2]2+ (bipy = 2,2’-bipyridine; pheno = 1,10-phenanthroline- 5,6-dione) dissolved in DCM/THF (4h, 70 °C) to form the corresponding surface-bound SC-[(phen)Ru(bipyridyl)2]2+ complexes. The identities of SC-[(phen)Ru(Mebipy)2]2+, SC-[(phen)Ru(tBubipy)2]2+, and SC-[(phen)Ru(pheno)(bipy)]2+ (SC = ITO, FTO or TiO2) chromophores were confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), UV-vis and reflectance infrared spectroscopies, and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The data were compared to Ru-polypyridyl control compounds dissolved in solution wherever possible. A facile ketone-amine condensation reaction between SC-[(phen)Ru(pheno)(bipy)]2+ and [Ru(1,10-phenthroline-5,6-diamine)(bipy)2]2+ in ethanol (80 °C, 1 h) formed the dinuclear, bound chromophore SC-[(phen)Ru(bipy)(tpphz)Ru(bipy)2]4+ (tpphz = tetrapyrido[3,2-a:2’,3’-c:3”,2”-h:2”’,3”’-j]phenazine). Photoelectrochemical oxidation of hydroquinone and triethylamine under acidic, neutral, or basic conditions showed that the SC-chromophore photoanodes are active, and that TiO2-[(phen)Ru(Mebipy)2]2+ is the most active and stable in the series.
T12-P03 University of Alberta | Publication | 2020-07-15 | Mona Amiri, Octavio Martinez Perez, Riley Endean, Loorthuraja Rasu, Prabin Nepal, "Shuai Xu ", Bergens, S. | | Novel semiconductor, Re-catalyst assemblies for CO2 reductionSolar energy storage into chemical bonds is, potentially, an ideal solution to global warming remediation and effective solar energy utilization. Additionally, carbon dioxide is the key target to remove from the atmosphere, and simultaneously, a difficult but unsurpassable recipient for maximum solar utilization. In this context, a combination of a chromophore coupled to a CO2 reduction catalyst is an attractive strategy to store solar energy into C-O bonds, recycling CO2 in the process, and possibly creating a closed sustainable loop with zero carbon emissions. Ruthenium polypyridine chromophores are largely known for their outstanding ability to harvest sunlight, stability, and to be tunable [1]. On the other hand, fac-Rhenium polypyridine-tricarbonyl catalyst lead the list of highly active molecular catalyst for CO2 reduction [2]. The research in our lab aims to incorporate these two and improve their stability through immobilization on a semiconductor surface. On an indium doped-tin oxide surface we have covalently bonded a ruthenium-rhenium photocatalytic system. Ruthenium is linked to rhenium through a tetrapyrido phenazine ligand in order to accelerate the electron transfer process. Preliminary photoelectrochemical results demonstrate that photocurrents generated in the presence of CO 2, and high intensity white light can reach up to -20 μA/cm2 corresponding to the CO2 reduction. The photoelectrochemical CO2 reduction current changes as function of applied bias, showing best results at -0.5 V vs Ag/AgO in CO2 saturated 0.1M LiClO4 acetonitrile.
This manuscript is being written.
The final experiments are held up by the current lab shutdown.T12-P03 University of Alberta | Publication | 2020-05-10 | | | In Lab Presentation and TourFuture Energy Systems lab tourT12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2019-10-16 | Bergens, S., Loorthuraja Rasu, Mona Amiri, Octavio Martinez Perez | | Climate Change and Solar FuelsPresentation and lab tour to delegates attending the Sustainability in Higher Education in Canada Conference, 2019T12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2019-05-16 | | | Two presentations and Lab tourT12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2019-05-08 | | | Renewable Energies presentation and hands-on photoelectrochemistry experimentEcole Champs Vallee School students (90 students)T12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2020-01-24 | Emily Majaesic, Loorthuraja Rasu, Octavio Martinez Perez, Bergens, S. | | Renewable Energies presentation and hands-on photoelectrochemistry experimentMichael Strembitsky School students (90 students)T12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2019-12-16 | | | Solar Fuels and Climate ChangeCO2 reduction and hydrogen fuel generation and fuel cellsT12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2019-05-11 | | | Catalysis, Climate Change, and Solar FuelsInvited public presentation at Edmonton Public Library. It is available as a FES video on YouTube
(https://youtu.be/48EYVEzU_aM)T12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2022-05-01 | | | Novel Earth Abundant Catalyst and Photosensitizer for Photocatalytic Carbon Dioxide Reduction Towards Solar FuelsPresentation by Undergraduate Student Elissa Yao at IUPAC CCCE 2021T12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2021-08-18 | Elissa Yao, Octavio Martinez Perez, Loorthuraja Rasu, Mike Donohoe, Bergens, S. | | Photocatalytic Production of Hydrogen Towards Solar FuelsPresentation by Mike Donohoe at the IUPAC CCCE 2021 Conference describing our new discovery of the most active Co-DMG complex catalyzed photocatalytic hydrogen evolution using visible light and our new organic earth abundant dye.T12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2021-08-18 | Mike Donohoe, Elissa Yao, Octavio Martinez Perez, Loorthuraja Rasu, Bergens, S. | | Straight-Forward Derivatizations of Tetracarbazole-Dicyanobenzene Organic Dyes for Solar Fuels Photoelectrodes and Heterogeneous Photocatalysts for Photosynthetic Organic Reactions. Oral presentation by Steve Bergens announcing our novel organic dyes as components of photoelectrons for converting CO2 into solar fuels.T12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2021-08-19 | Bergens, S., Loorthuraja Rasu, Mona Amiri, Jinkun Liu, Octavio Martinez Perez | | Climate Change and Artificial Photosynthesis to Store Solar Energy in Fuels.Classroom presentation to grade 8 students at Ecole Champs Vallee SchoolT12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2022-04-13 | | | N-Heterocyclic Carbene Organic Dies Bonded to TiO2 Surfaces: Photoelectrodes with an N-Heterocyclic Carbene-Organic Dye Derived from 2,4,5,6-tetra(9H-Carbazol-9-yl)isophtalonitrile (4CzIPN)The impact factor of this journal is 2.483, not that automatically filled in below.
Publication announcing new, easily prepared organic dyes and novel bonding to TiO2 semiconductors.
Manuscript submitted April 25, 2023T12-P03 University of Alberta | Publication | 2017-01-01 | Octavio Martinez Perez, Mona Amiri, Loorthuraja Rasu, Bergens, S. | | A One-Step Electropolymerization of a Dicyanobenzene-Carbazole-Imidazole Dye for Photoelectrodes, Heterogeneous Photocatalysts, and Sensing ApplicationsNew, abundant organic dyes are polymerized in one step to form visible light driven electrodes for electrooxidations of sacrificial electron donors, fluorescent sensors, and photocatalyst for olefin isomerizations. The phosphorescence of the electrodes is tuned with electrode potential. T12-P03 University of Alberta | Publication | 2017-01-01 | Jinkun Liu, Octavio Martinez Perez, Loorthuraja Rasu, Dominic Lavergne, Elizabeth Murphy, Bergens, S. | | N-Heterocyclic Carbene-Chromophore Ligands in Organic Photocatalysis and Solar Fuels ChemistryInvited Departmental Seminar given by BergensT12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2023-03-16 | Bergens, S., Octavio Martinez Perez, Loorthuraja Rasu, Mona Amiri, Elizabeth Murphy, Mike Donohoe, Dominic Lavergne | | New Dyes and Catalysts for Photosynthetic Organic Reactions and Solar FuelsInvited Seminar (Zoom) for the Monthly Webinar Series at the Energy Technology Centre,
School of Engineering, University for Developing Studies. GhanaT12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2023-02-28 | Bergens, S., Octavio Martinez Perez, Loorthuraja Rasu, Jinkun Liu, Mona Amiri, Elizabeth Murphy, Mike Donohoe, Dominic Lavergne | | Solar Fuels, Research, and Climate ChangeLecture, demonstration, and supervise experiments by U School Class from Anne Fitzgerald SchoolT12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2022-10-03 | Bergens, S., Octavio Martinez Perez, Dominic Lavergne, Elizabeth Murphy, Jinkun Liu | | Teaching outreach Climate Change and Solar FuelsLecture, demonstration, and supervise experiments by U School Class from Andrew School.T12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2022-10-26 | Bergens, S., Octavio Martinez Perez, Dominic Lavergne, Elizabeth Murphy, Jinkun Liu | | Climate Change, Solar Fuels, and ScienceLecture, demonstration, and supervise experiments by U School Class from John A McDougall SchoolT12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2022-10-31 | Bergens, S., Octavio Martinez Perez, Jinkun Liu, Dominic Lavergne, Elizabeth Murphy | | N-Heterocyclic Carbene Organic Dyes Derived from 2,4,5,6-tetra(9H-Carbazol-9-yl)isophthalonitrile (4CzIPN) Bonded to TiO2 SurfacesT12-P03 University of Alberta | Publication | 2023-01-01 | Mona Amiri, Loorthuraja Rasu, Bergens, S., Octavio Martinez Perez | | One-Step Electropolymerization of a Dicyanobenzene-Carbazole-Imidazole Dye to Prepare Photoactive Redox Polymer FilmsThis paper describes the one-step formation of the photo-redox support for all CO2 photoelectrodes we will use in the next phase of this study.
The impact factor of this journal is 5, not 3.5 as listed automatically below.T12-P03 University of Alberta | Publication | 2023-08-02 | Jinkun Liu, Octavio Martinez Perez, Dominic Lavergne, Loorthuraja Rasu, Elizabeth Murphy, Andy Galvez Rodriguez, Bergens, S. | | New abundant 4CzIPN-derived Photosensitizers and Catalysts for Photosynthetic Organic Reactions and Solar FuelsPhD dissertation. T12-P03 | Publication | 2024-01-22 | Octavio Martinez Perez | | Novel 4CzIPN-derived Photosensitizers for Organic Reactions and Solar FuelsPublic PhD presentationT12-P03 | Activity | 2023-01-23 | Octavio Martinez Perez | | New NHC- and Imidazole-Functionalized Carbazole Dyes for Visible-Light Organic- and Solar Fuels Photoreactions Over Homogeneous- and Heterogeneous Photocatalysts.Oral Presentation at the 21st International Symposium on Organometallic ChemistryT12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2023-07-25 | Bergens, S., Octavio Martinez Perez, Elizabeth Murphy, Jinkun Liu, Dominic Lavergne, Mona Amiri, Loorthuraja Rasu | | Electronically Conductive, Multifunctional Polymer Binder for Highly Active, Stable, and Abundant Composite Electrodes for Oxygen EvolutionNote the impact factor of the journal is 10.4, not 8.4 as automatically inputed.
This is a publication describing the most active earth-abundant oxygen evolution electrodes reported to date. There can be no green hydrogen economy without water electrolysis driven by renewable energy. Water electrolysis requires the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in 1/2 of the unit. We discovered a simple way to prepare electrodes in three easy steps from inexpensive chemicals that are the most active and stable abundant water OER electrodes reported to date. We cannot find reports of more active and stable systems than ours that are also made of earth abundant materials. In our case, Ni, Fe, carbon and nitrogen. Unlike most systems in the literature, we tested ours under very harsh conditions: 6 M KOH, 85 deg C, 115 hours of continuous operation with very little loss in activity.T12-P03 University of Alberta | Publication | 2023-05-10 | | | Electronically Conductive, Multifunctional Polymer Binder for Highly Active, Stable, and Abundant Composite Electrodes for Oxygen EvolutionA patent application describing the highly active, stable oxygen evolution reaction electrodes made in 3 simple steps from inexpensive starting materials. Will be submitted Monday or Tuesday of the week of May 8, 2023. This work was accepted in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces this week, and the application will be filed before the paper is published online by the journal.T12-P03 University of Alberta | IP Management | 2023-05-08 | | | Multifunctional Carbazole-Based Materials as Electrochemical Water Splitting and Photoredox CatalysisPhD dissertationT12-P03 | Publication | 2023-09-29 | Jinkun Liu | | Novel Carbazole-Based Materials as Water Splitting and Photoredox Catalysis Public PhD presentation.T12-P03 | Activity | 2023-09-26 | Jinkun Liu | | Carbazole-cyanobenzene dyes electrografted to carbon or ITO support for visible light-driven photoanodes and olefin isomerizations (USPTO)USPTO Patent Application No.: 63/166,334
FIled on: 2021-03-26
Abstract: Molecular dyes are utilized in applications including displays,1–3 photocatalysis of organic reactions,4,5 photodynamic cancer therapy,6 dye-sensitized solar cells,7–10 and photoelectrodes that produce solar fuels.11,12 Dye-sensitized systems incorporate a thin, often molecular layer of dye, typically on the surface of a semiconductor.1–3,7–12 The majority of dye-sensitized systems employ transition metal complexes as dyes.13,14 Ru- 8–10,15,16 and Ir- 15,17 polypyridyl systems are the most common because they offer good conversion efficiencies, they are readily modified, and form long-lived triplet excited states by intersystem crossing (ISC). These systems can be costly and toxic. Organic dyes are less expensive if they are easily made from available precursors.18 The organic dyes used in
photoelectrodes19 include porphyrins,20,21 perylene derivatives,22,23 sub porphyrins,24 and triphenylamines.25 Push-pull dyes have been studied extensively in dye sensitized solar cells,8–10 and more recently, in photoelectrodes for water oxidation and hydrogen
production.14,24–26 Organic dyes are typically attached to electrode surfaces by carboxylate21 or phosphonate22 bridges, or by noncovalent interactions.20,23 Phosphonate and carboxylate bridges tend to hydrolyze at alkaline pHs. Several groups, including our own, have demonstrated that electrografting aromatic diazonium compounds results in covalent bonds between semiconductors (SCs) and transition metal-based dyes that tolerate alkaline pHs better than carboxylate and phosphonate linkages.16,27 Further, we demonstrated that the SC-dye bonds predominantly form at the electroactive sites on the semiconductor,16 a property that may prevent organic dye aggregation on the SC surface. There are few examples of organic chromophores electrografted to electrode surfaces by diazonium chemistry.28,29 We now report a simple synthesis to allow bonding of the carbazole-cyanobenzene push-pull organic dye 1,2,3,5-tetrakis(carbazol-9-yl)-4,6-dicyanobenzene (4CzIPN)2,4 to ITO and carbon. The resulting photoelectrodes are active and appreciably
stable towards photooxidations under acidic, and basic pHs. They are also active photocatalysts for the photosynthetic isomerization of stilbene- and cinnamic acid-derivatives.T12-P03 University of Alberta | IP Management | 2021-03-26 | | | Renewable Energies presentation and hands-on photoelectrochemistry experimentU SchoolT12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2020-02-03 | Bergens, S., Loorthuraja Rasu, Mona Amiri, Emily Majaesic | | Investigation into the properties of a ruthenium(polypyridyl)-NHC compoundThis invited paper describes the synthesis and study of a ruthenium-polypyridyl dye modified with a N-heterocyclic carbene. Ru-polypyridyl compounds are the most common dye used in solar fuel studies. N-heterocyclic carbenes are among the most important type of ligands studied in transition metal literature. This paper describes the combination and study of these features.T12-P03 University of Alberta | Publication | 2020-10-23 | James W Pearson, Riley Endean, Loorthuraja Rasu, Bergens, S. | | Novel NHC-Bonded Ru-Polypyridine and Organic Dyes in Photoanodes that Operate in Alkaline MediaWe developed a novel, inexpensive organic dye based upon the recent, highly popular Carbazole-Cyanobenzene dye modified with a N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) donating group. NHC groups are well-known for bonding to metal centres and strongly enhancing their activities. In this paper we describe the synthesis of this system, and remarkably, discover that they bond to semiconductors such as TiO2. The paper describes the photoactivity of the electrodes towards model solar fuels reactions under acidic, neutral, and alkaline conditions. James Pearson is an NSERC scholarship student working on another project in the group, but helped prepare the novel NCH-organic dye.
This manuscript will be submitted by the end of May, 2021.T12-P03 University of Alberta | Publication | 2021-05-14 | Mona Amiri, James W Pearson, Loorthuraja Rasu, Bergens, S. | | A Simple Imidazole Derivative of 1,2,3,5-tetrakis(carbazol-9-yl)-4,6-dicyanobenzene Absorbed on Silica Gel for Photosynthetic Isomerizations of Olefins in Batch and FlowWe developed a novel, inexpensive organic dye based upon the recent, highly popular Carbazole-Cyanobenzene dye modified with an imidazole donating group. Imidazole groups are well-known for bonding to metal centres and strongly enhancing their activities. In this paper we describe the synthesis of this system, and remarkably, discover that it is adsorbed by SiO2, and the adsorbed systems carry out photosynthetic reactions in sunlight under air. Literally in the parking lot on a sunny day. This dye will feature heavily in our solar fuels electrodes and molecular systems
This manuscript will be submitted the week of May 17, 2021T12-P03 University of Alberta | Publication | 2021-05-14 | | | Carbazole-cyanobenzene dyes electrografted to carbon or ITO supports for visible light driven photoanodes and olefin isomierizationUS patent application. # 63327873. Filed April 6, 2022T12-P03 University of Alberta | IP Management | 2022-04-06 | | | Inkjet Printed Iridium Alloy Catalysts for Proton Exchange Membrane Water ElectrolysisPoster for Research Symposium on the following:
Hydrogen can be produced through water electrolysis with electricity from renewable energy making it a viable green alternative to fossil fuels. Catalysts used for water splitting are primarily made of iridium but are expensive, so alternatives that use less material are needed to become more commercially feasible. For this project we will use iridium alloy catalysts, IrNi and IrCu, which use less iridium by replacing some of it with the other metal. Small-scale tests have shown better activity than pure iridium due to the interaction between the metals. The catalysts will be deposited on the membrane using inkjet printing which has the benefits of precise control of deposition and can create low catalyst loading by forming very thin layers usually 3-5 µm. The performance of the catalyst coated membranes will be directly compared to state-of-the-art systems by evaluation in a proton exchange membrane electrolysis cell by measuring hydrogen production efficiency and cell durability.T06-P04 University of Alberta | Activity | 2021-09-20 | | | Producing Green Hydrogen through Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis using Low Loading Iridium-Nickel CatalystsThis was a 3 minute thesis presentation for the NSERC CREAT ME2 competition where the following was discussed:
Climate change continues to be a growing concern around the world, and to help reduce the negative effects of adding CO2 to our atmosphere we would like to transition to renewable sources of energy. To continue to decarbonize the production of electricity the Canadian Energy Regulator plans for a substantial amount of wind and solar to be added up until 2050 to help meet the countries climate goals. As of 2018 Wind and Solar only accounted for about 5% and <1% of electricity generation in Canada, respectively. Already in Alberta we have seen some of this increase as the percentage of Wind energy has gone up from 6% to 13% and solar has increased from <0.1% to 4% from 2018 to 2021. However, a disadvantage of these renewable sources is that they produce power intermittently. For example, if there is no wind or it is nighttime. To overcome this disadvantage, we can store the excess energy it produces at peak production times for later use. One way to store that energy is in the chemical energy of hydrogen since it can also be used as a fuel. Hydrogen can be produced through the process of electrolysis which uses the renewable electricity as the power source to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. One of the challenges of splitting water is that the reaction takes lots of energy and is slow which is why a catalyst is used to decrease the energy required. The best catalysts for this reaction tend to be made of iridium at the anode and platinum at the cathode which are a couple of the scarcest metals on the planet. My masters research focuses on the anode side reaction, and I am looking at a way to reduce catalyst cost and amount of iridium used by replacing some of it with another metal to make an alloy, in my case Nickel is used. This not only decreases the amount of iridium used but also has the potential to increase the efficiency of the reaction. This has previously been shown on a small scale but now I want to bring it to a larger scale and closer to what is being used commercially. This means using electrolyzer cells that can be stacked together called membrane electrode assemblies as shown on the slide. The cell type that I use is called a proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer. This is because the central membrane allows the transport of protons, which are hydrogen ions, from the anode to the cathode side where it recombines with the electrons to form hydrogen gas. Most importantly, experiments will be done to see how to make a functioning catalyst layer, look at the efficiency of the cell and, if possible, reduce the amount of catalyst we put on the membrane surface without significantly sacrificing performance. Research in this field will allow us to further utilize this hydrogen technology as it works to lower costs and save rare materials. Green hydrogen produced this way can be used in a fuel cell to reclaim the electrical energy which can be used to offset fossil fuels in both power generation as well as in fuel cell vehicles. This technology will surely help reduce the effects of climate change by providing a way to store large amounts of excess energy that remains carbon free from beginning to end.T06-P04 | Activity | 2022-05-03 | Eric Beaulieu | | Reducing PEM Water Electrolysis Anode Catalyst Layer Loading: Impact of Layer Conductivity and ActivityRenewable energy can be used in a proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer to create green
hydrogen, thereby enabling large scale energy storage. One of the main disadvantages of this
technology is the use of rare and expensive precious metals such as iridium and platinum as the catalyst in the anode catalyst layer (ACL), making the reduction of the use of these materials a key priority to enabling further commercialization of this technology. This project uses numerical modelling, with experimental validation, to investigate the charge and kinetic characteristics of the ACL that allow for catalyst reduction to occur without inducing a significant reduction in performance. The study shows that ACLs with high electronic and protonic conductivity, and with a low kinetic activity, are sensitive to loading changes. Such ACLs were found to be representative of those composed of an Ir black catalyst, and such a loading dependence was demonstrated in-house. Highly active ACLs, with at least one phase exhibiting a very poor conductivity, were found to have a very poor catalyst utilization, allowing for catalyst reduction. IrOx based ACLs were found to exhibit such characteristics, however while there is experimental evidence in the literature for the predicted insensitivity to loading [Taie et al. ACS AMI 2020, Fujimura et al. ECS PRIME 2020], it was not reproduced in-house. It is hypothesized that the electronic conductivity of the ACL may be compression dependent leading to better utilization, or that the ACL fabrication method did not produce a uniform layer. T06-P04 University of Alberta | Activity | 2022-08-25 | Eric Beaulieu, Michael Moore, Manas Mandal, Himanshi Dhawan, Secanell, M. | | Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship - Master’s (NSERC) 2021/22T06-P04 | Award | 2021-09-01 | Eric Beaulieu | | Walter H Johns Graduate Fellowship 2021/22T06-P04 | Award | 2021-09-01 | Eric Beaulieu | | NSERC CREATE ME2 CREATE and Use Hydrogen Poster Contest1st place in poster contest.T06-P04 | Award | 2022-08-25 | Eric Beaulieu | | Improving Utilization of Ir-Based Catalyst Layers in Proton Exchange Membrane Water ElectrolyzersT06-P04 | Publication | 2024-01-08 | Eric Beaulieu | | Energy ExplorersPresentation for FES at the Telus World of Science. My FES student, Elizabeth Murphy presented ways to convert CO2 into solar fuels to the public.T12-P03 | Activity | 2023-03-04 | Elizabeth Murphy | | Development of Re(I) Photocatalysts for the Photochemical Reduction of Atmospheric CO2Master's DissertationT12-P03 | Publication | 2024-09-25 | Elizabeth Murphy | | Modular Construction of Water Oxidation Photoanodes by Covalent Bonding and Self-AssemblyDye-sensitized photoelectrochemical cells (DSPECs) convert the energy of visible light into chemical bonds through water splitting. We report a reliable method to attach 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) to ITO or TiO2 semiconductors by a C(5)-Osurface single covalent bond. Reaction between the surface phen and the corresponding Ru- or Ir- precursors formed the [Ru(bipy)2(phen)]2+ (bipy = 2,2'-bipyridine) or [Ir(ppy)2(phen)]+ (ppy = 2-phenylpyridine) chromophores grafted at C(5) to ITO or TiO2. We investigated the photoelectrochemical activity of these photoanodes with hydroquinone and various amines as sacrificial electron donors over a wide pH range (pH 1-13). The covalent C(5)-Osurface linkage is quite resistant to hydrolysis under basic conditions. We found that these positively-charged TiO2/chromophore surfaces self-assemble with colloidal, anionic Ir1-xNix (x ranges from 0 to 0.5) hydrous oxide nanoparticles to form active photoanodes for water oxidation.T12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2018-01-28 | Chao Wang, Mona Amiri, Riley Endean, "Samuel Varley ", Benjamin E Rennie, Bergens, S. | | Photoelectrochemical solar cells for water oxidation and CO2 reduction systemsT12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2017-12-05 | | | There’s more than enough solar power to meet our energy needs: the problem is storing itInterview about the work on solar fuels and ways how to solve energy storage problemsT12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2018-04-10 | | | Tsinghua University and UAlberta Student WorkshopDiscussion panel on the future energy systems research.T12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2017-10-06 | | | Tunable Syngas Production via Photoelectrochemical Reduction of CO2 Using Cu2O-SnO2 Z-Scheme PhotocatalystT02-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2018-08-13 | | | Active, Simple Iridium--Copper Hydrous Oxide Electrocatalysts for Water OxidationT12-P03 University of Alberta | Publication | 2017-02-16 | | | A Rational Design of Cu2O-SnO2 Core-Shell Catalyst for Highly Selective CO2-to-CO ConversionT02-P03, T12-P02 University of Alberta | Publication | 2019-04-16 | Sheng (Shawn) Nian Zhang, Meng Li, Bin Hua, "Nanqi Duan ", Shaochen Ding, Bergens, S., Shankar, K., Luo, J. | | Photoelectrochemical Reduction of CO2Poster presentation on "Photoelectrochemical Reduction of CO2" at the 2018 Future Energy System research symposium on March 14th, 2018.T02-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2018-03-14 | | | Syngas Production via Photoelectrochemical Reduction of CO2 with H2OPoster presentation titled "Syngas Production via Photoelectrochemical Reduction of CO2 with H2O" at the 2018 FEGRS research symposium on July 4th, 2018.T02-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2018-07-04 | | | Edmonton High School Students, TeamUp Science Summer Camp (Enrichment Program)The TeamUp science summer camp paid a visit for an enrichment experience (a group of about 20 students from high schools in Edmonton). The program was intended to inspire them to continue their education to university. This group were shown different instruments used in a Chemistry lab for solar fuel generation application.T12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2018-07-27 | | | Skype a Scientist Program, 6th grade Students (John Knox Christian School)Skype session with elementary school students to help them get familiar with solar energy and solar fuelsT12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2018-10-31 | | | Skype a Scientist Program, 3rd grade Students (Rosemary Heights School)Skype session with elementary school students to help them get familiar with solar energy and solar fuels.T12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2018-10-10 | | | Skype a Scientist Program, 4th grade Students at Brougham Elementary School, KansasSkype session with elementary school students to help them get familiar with solar energy and solar fuels.T12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2018-10-04 | | | Developing Catalysts for Energy Conversion DevicesA thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Chao Wang
T12-P03 University of Alberta | Publication | 2018-07-31 | | | Science Outreach Faculty of Science Service Award. I am honoured to receive this award for our efforts towards SciComm public outreach on Climate Change and Solar Fuels. My group and I have given a number of presentations to the public, public school classrooms, and summer preschools. These are listed in the output section. The presentations deal with climate change, solar fuels, and EDI in Science. Folks in the group from all over the world and from minoritized groups join me to present to the public and students of all ages to discuss climate change, solar fuels, and what it's like to be a Scientist working on these problems. We strongly emphasize that nobody should be discouraged from pursuing Science and that folks from many disciplines can contribute.T12-P03 University of Alberta | Award | 2020-02-21 | | | Two presentations and lab tours for international studentsT12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2019-07-11 | | | Chemistry demos for kids, Mad ScienceScience demoT12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2019-08-23 | | | Solar FuelsPlenary lecture. Student Organized Electrochemical Society, British Columbia chapter, VancouverT12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2019-07-26 | | | Catalysis and Energy Worldwide Universities Network (1.5-hour class- 22 students)T12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2019-07-15 | | | Calgary Lecture Series; Energy Panel: To provide continuing education opportunity in Calgary that showcases excellence and innovation at the University of Albertapanel discussion (1.2 hours long) with the public (audience ~ 300 people) at the Calgary public library.T05-P02, T12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2019-05-22 | | | Excellence of TeachingInterdepartmental Science Students' Society Excellence of Teaching Award for dedication to Undergraduate Teaching 2019T12-P03 University of Alberta | Award | 2020-02-05 | | | Powering Alberta’s Energy Future PanelSpeakers were invited to participate in a public panel discussion on powering Alberta's energy future as part of the Calgary Library Lecture Series. T05-P02, T10-P04 University of Alberta | Activity | 2019-05-22 | | | Charge-accumulation-induced mixed photocorrosion in the Z-scheme PEC systemT02-P03, T12-P02 University of Alberta | Activity | 2020-11-23 | | | Climate Change on Earth and MarsA zoom presentation to Julie Arsenaut's grade 8 class at Michael Strembitsky SchoolT12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2021-03-03 | | | Electrochemically reconstructed perovskite with cooperative catalytic sites for CO 2-to-formate conversionPerovskites are the promising catalysts for various reactions, yet their structure evolutions and the composition-function relation in the carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO2RR) are not fully explored. In this study, we report that the reconstructed BaBiO3 (BBO) perovskite is able to facilitate CO2-to-formate (FA) conversion by both A- (Ba) and B- (Bi) site elements through the cooperative but distinct catalytic mechanisms. Specifically, the electrochemical reductions of BBO trigger the complete rearrangement of atoms with rapid kinetics at catalytically relevant voltages, giving rise to electricity-induced Bi metallene (eBBO) that efficiently generates FA with high selectivity and partial current densities. Moreover, the reconstructed BBO simultaneously enables Ba2+ release to the electrolyte, and the time-resolved FTIR and in situ Raman analysis collectively reveal that the Ba2+ adsorption enables easier CO2 adsorption, thereby leading to enhanced CO2-to-FA conversion. This work is of direct significance in elucidating the cooperative catalysis between A- and B- site elements in perovskites for room-temperature CO2RR.T02-P03, T12-P02 University of Alberta | Publication | 2022-06-01 | Mengnan Zhu, Bo-Wen Zhang, Minrui Gao, Pengfei Sui, Chenyu Xu, Lu Gong, Zeng, H., Shankar, K., Bergens, S., Luo, J. | | Electrochemically Dismantled Perovskite with Cooperative Catalysis for CO 2-to-Formate ConversionElectrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2RR) driven by sustainable energy resources holds great promise for realizing the zero net emission of CO2 by converting them to value-added fuels.1–4 For the past few years, substantial efforts have been devoted to boosting CO2RR using different nanostructured catalysts. However, the complicated synthesis procedures and low product yields are usually associated with many of these catalysts, which hinder their scalability. More importantly, many catalysts suffer from the low catalytic activities, high overpotentials, and unsatisfactory selectivity, which collectively impede the large-scale applications of CO2RR technique. In this study, we pursue initiating the CO2 conversion on perovskite-based catalysts BaBiO3 (BBO) to selectively produce formate (FA). The structural/phase evolution of BBO under cathodic potentials, the catalytic performances of electrochemical and photoelectrochemical reduction of CO2RR, and the effect of non-active A-site element (Ba) will be investigated in detail.
Herein, BBO perovskite is fabricated by annealing the sol-gel Ba2+/Bi3+ nitrate mixture at high temperatures. Extensive physical characterizations show that under negative potentials, BBO pre-catalysts undergo irreversible structural and phase transformations, giving rise to Bi metallene with atomic-scale thickness and enlarged surface area, as supported by X-ray diffraction analysis and transmission electron microscopy (Figure 1a, and 1b). Using the fully electrochemically reduced BBO, a near-unity selectivity towards formate (FA) can be achieved at the potential of – 1.2 V vs. RHE in 0.1M KHCO3 solution with the typical H-type electrochemical cell. By coupling the state-of-the-art BiVO3 photoanode to the BBO dark cathode, FA can be generated at a of 80.0 % at a cell voltage of 2.5 V in a PEC cell. Contrarily, only < 1.0 % can be detected at 2.5 V without solar irradiation. Meanwhile, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) analysis suggests that A-site elements (Ba2+) are simultaneously released from the BBO lattice and diffuse to the electrolyte as a result of the complete reduction of BBO. The effect of Ba2+ - containing electrolytes on the CO2RR product distributions have been studied, and the results show that Ba2+ can either facilitate or impede FA production depending on both the external potential and the concentration of Ba2+ (Figure 1c). Specifically, high Ba2+ concentration and more negative potentials (i.e., 25 mM Ba2+ and -1.1 - -1.3 V vs. RHE) tend to favor HER over CO2RR due to the formation of BaCO3 precipitates, whereas low Ba2+ concentrations and more positive potentials (i.e., 2.5 and 7.5 mM Ba2+ and -0.9 - -1.1 V vs. RHE) can significantly enhance the selectivity towards FA. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations show that suitable barium ion adsorption promotes CO2-to-FA conversion by regulating the adsorption strength of *OCHO and *HCOOH intermediates. Our study utilizes both A- and B- site elements in BBO to benefit CO2 conversion, which may be extended to other perovskite electrocatalysts for CO2RR.T02-P03, T12-P02 University of Alberta | Activity | 2021-10-01 | Mengnan Zhu, Bowen Zhang, Minrui Gao, Chenyu Xu, Pengfei Sui, Zeng, H., Shankar, K., Bergens, S., Luo, J. | | Switchable CO2 Electroreduction Induced by the Bismuth Moiety with Tunable Local Structures on GrapheneT02-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2022-05-29 | | | Photocatalytic Production of Hydrogen Towards Solar FuelsInorganic Chemistry Exchange Student Presentation about our highest activity earth abundant Cobalt-DMG catalyst for visible light-driven H2 production with our newly discovered organic dyes. T12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2021-08-18 | | | Novel Photocatalysts for Carbon Dioxide Reduction Towards Solar FuelsInorganic Chemistry Exchange presentation by Elissa Yao describing our discovery of a visible light-driven CO2 conversion reaction using our newly discovered dyes.T12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2021-08-17 | | | Nanosecond Laser Confined Bismuth Moiety with Tunable Structures on Graphene for Carbon Dioxide ReductionT02-P03 University of Alberta | Publication | 2023-04-17 | Mengnan Zhu, "haoqing Jiang ", Bowen Zhang, Minrui Gao, Pengfei Sui, "renfei feng ", Shankar, K., Bergens, S., Gary J Cheng, Luo, J. | | Teaching Solar FuelsGave a presentation and met with local Teachers describing our research on solar fuels and strategies to teach students and the public on climate change.T12-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2023-03-13 | | | NSERC Alliance Alberta Innovates Advance ProgramA grant awarded by Alberta Innovates to Augment an NSERC Discovery grant. The research is to develop prototype nitrogen to NH3 electrolyzers. This research uses systems developed under the FES grant.T12-P03 University of Alberta | Award | 2023-01-18 | |
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