Topic：One-Dimensional Semiconductor Nanowires for Solar to Fuel and Solar to Electric Conversion
Speaker: Prof. Bin Liu
School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
Nanyang Technological University
Block N 1.2, B1-06, 62 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637459
Location: 907-1445
Time: 2014.11.25 am 10:00-11:00
Abstract:
Sunlight is an ideal source of energy, and converting sunlight into chemical fuels, mimicking what nature does, has attracted significant attention in the past decade. In terms of solar energy conversion into chemical fuels, solar water splitting for hydrogen production is one of the most attractive renewable energy technologies, and this achievement would satisfy our increasing demand for carbon-neutral sustainable energy. Here, I will present corrosion-resistant, nanocomposite photoelectrodes for spontaneous overall solar water splitting, consisting of a CdS quantum dots (QDs) modified TiO2 photoanode and a CdSe QDs modified NiO photocathode, where cadmium chalcogenide QDs are protected by ZnS passivation layer and gas evolution co-catalysts. The optimized device exhibited a maximum efficiency of 0.17% comparable to that of the natural photosynthesis with excellent photostability under visible light illumination. Our device is the first achievement of a complete QD-based system, showing spontaneous overall water splitting in a non-sacrificial environment under visible light illumination (l > 400 nm) through mimicking the nature’s “Z-scheme” process. The results here also provide a conceptual layout to improve the efficiency of solar-to-fuel conversion, which is solely based on facile scalable solution-phase techniques.
Biography
Bin Liu received his B.Eng. (2002) and M.Eng. (2004) in chemical engineering from the NationalUniversity of Singapore with Professor Hua Chun Zeng and Ph.D. in chemical engineering from University of Minnesota (2011) with Professor Eray S. Aydil. He also worked as a postdoctoral researcher (2011-2012) in the Department of Chemistry at University of California, Berkeley with Professor Peidong Yang. He is currently an Assistant Professor in School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at Nanyang Technological University. Bin has extensive experience in synthesis of nanostructured materials and has been working on nanostructured materials for energy conversion and energy storage for more than 10 years.