Project description
Hydrogen production: mechanisms at the transition metal oxide-water interface
The use of sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen to obtain hydrogen fuel (H2) is poised to play an important role in the clean energy transition. Transition metal oxides (TMOs) are promising catalysts to accelerate the rate of this reaction. However, the electrons and holes in the TMOs tend to recombine. Better knowledge is needed about the underlying mechanisms at the TMO semiconductor-water interface to mitigate this problem. Funded by the European Research Council, the WATER-X project aims to use time-resolved, femtosecond-laser, photoelectron spectroscopy with a liquid microjet setup to characterise the properties of the early and short-lived molecular intermediates. This will pave the way to improved efficiency of the light-to-energy conversion.
Objective
Photocatalytic water splitting using transition metal oxides (TMOs) has the potential to play a key role in the sustainable large-scale production of hydrogen. Due to their activity, cost-effectiveness, and stability TMOs are viewed as attractive materials to catalyze water splitting by harnessing solar energy. A major challenge is effectively preventing the recombination of electrons and holes in the TMOs produced upon (solar) light absorption. While these charge recombination processes occur on the pico-to-nanosecond timescale, the whole water splitting process is almost 12 orders of magnitude slower! This huge difference urgently demands a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms and charge-driven chemical reactions involving electron transfer (reduction reaction) or hole transfer (oxidation reaction) that take place at the TMO semiconductor–liquid interface. In my WATER-X project I will investigate these sub-10-picoseconds processes at the interface of TMO nanoparticles in bulk water by using time-resolved femtosecond laser photoelectron spectroscopy by applying liquid microjet setup. The objective is to measure the early-time molecular intermediates and their associated electronic-structures, their lifetimes, energetics, photoelectron angular distributions, and decay mechanisms of the short-lived molecular intermediates. With this knowledge we can determine the exact mechanisms of light-induced water dissociation and will pave the way to manipulating light-induced interactions to the solid-aqueous interface for improving the efficiency of light-to-energy conversion. These novel experiments will be performed for four nanoparticle photocatalysts, hematite, titanium dioxide, cerium oxide, and nickel-iron-oxyhydroxide with manifold electronic-structure properties (bandgap, charge carrier dynamics, and energetics), which make them attractive for future applications.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences chemical sciences catalysis photocatalysis
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry transition metals
- natural sciences physical sciences electromagnetism and electronics semiconductivity
- natural sciences physical sciences optics laser physics
- natural sciences physical sciences optics spectroscopy
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2023-COG
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14109 Berlin
Germany
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