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Gap-plasmon electrochemistry coupled with photo-induced enhanced Raman spectroscopy to probe oxygen vacancy dynamics (in-situ) and hot charge carrier kinetics for photoelectrochemical CO2 reduction

Project description

Advancing CO2 mitigation techniques

There is an imminent need to address global warming by reducing the CO2 levels released in the atmosphere every day by anthropogenic activities. This may be achieved by an innovative technique known as photoelectrochemical (PEC) CO2 conversion, which can be considered an artificial photosynthesis approach that employs electrodes to adsorb and activate CO2. Funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the PIERCAT project aims to improve this technique by focusing on the physicochemical properties of the electrode materials. The design and tuning of the electrode surfaces are expected to improve the efficiency not only of PEC CO2 conversion but other applications such as fuel cells.

Objective

Photo-electrochemical CO2 reduction (CO2 ER) is a promising technology to mitigate the ever-increasing CO2 levels in the earth's atmosphere as well as to produce chemical feedstocks simultaneously. Though tremendous research has been undertaken in the recent past to enhance the efficiency of CO2ER, still little known about CO2ER reaction pathways, selectivity, and the role of active sites, which impede the largescale implementation at the industrial level. It is well known that the surface structure strongly influences the electrocatalytic activity of electrode materials. Thus, the presence of defects, for instance, oxygen vacancies (VOs) drastically alter the surface physicochemical properties of metal oxide (MO) based electrodes and play a crucial role in defining the overall performance of CO2 ER. Therefore, it is indeed necessary to better understand the VOs formation, healing, and associated reaction kinetics. Here, I introduce photo-induced enhanced Raman spectroscopy (PIERS) coupled with gap-plasmon-assisted electrochemistry as a powerful tool to probe the VOs and associated charge transfer dynamics of MO electro-catalysts. Plasmonic nanogaps are ideal for the extreme localization of light and they generate intense electric fields in confined volumes. Such a small gap volume dramatically enhances the light-matter interaction and enables the creation of single molecule-level spectroscopic probes. Therefore, using the combination of gap-plasmon probe electrochemistry and in-situ PIERS, the current proposal aims to elucidate the underlying reaction mechanism of CO2ER at active sites (VOs). As a result, new strategies may be unveiled to design and tune the active sites on MO electrode surfaces for efficient CO2ER. Therefore, the study is not only limited to CO2ER but also provides significant insights for other important photo-electrocatalytic applications as well, for instance, fuel cells.

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Topic(s)

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HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01

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Coordinator

LUDWIG-MAXIMILIANS-UNIVERSITAET MUENCHEN
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 189 687,36
Address
GESCHWISTER SCHOLL PLATZ 1
80539 MUNCHEN
Germany

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Region
Bayern Oberbayern München, Kreisfreie Stadt
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

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