Sustainable Solar Fuels

On the evening of Thursday 11 February 2021 Prof. James Durrant, of Imperial College London gave the section an online talk on 'The solar driven synthesis of sustainable fuels: photochemistry meets catalysis'.

In the webinar Prof Durrant talked about the increasing interest in the development of artificial photosynthetic systems for solar driven fuel synthesis. He started by discussing the challenge of the solar driven synthesis of sustainable fuels and chemistry, and its potential role in reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. He then went on to review approaches to artificial photosynthesis, and the lessons which can be learnt from biological photosynthesis. 

Prof Durrant introduced his own particular research interest, the role of charge carrier dynamics in determining the efficiency of such systems, focusing on photocatalysts and photoelectrodes for water oxidation and reduction. His talk primarily focused on metal oxide materials, although he also covered organic polymer photocatalysts and hybrid molecular / inorganic systems for solar driven proton and CO2 reduction. Experimentally, these studies are based around transient absorption spectroscopy on timescales from femtoseconds to seconds, which are correlated with the results of photoelectrochemical analyses of device efficiency. These studies address the dynamics of charge separation and recombination, as well as the kinetics of water oxidation / reduction at semiconductor / liquid interfaces.

During the talk Prof Durrant addressed issues including the underlying photochemistry of oxides, the role of the space charge layers at electrochemical junctions in spatially separating charges, and the role of heterojunctions and catalysts layers in enhancing system efficiency. Particular consideration was placed on the mechanism of water oxidation / reduction, and the extent oxide surfaces function as heterogeneous catalysts for this reaction.

The presentation given by Prof Durrant can be accessed here and you can relive the entire event above or via our dedicated YouTube channel! Enjoy!