Periodic Reporting for period 1 - LuSH Art (Luminescent Solar Heterostructures for Artificial photosynthesis)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2020-03-16 al 2022-03-15
Energy consumption is increasing every year, and currently, about 81% of world energy supply is from fossil fuels. Despite the economic slowdown for the COVID-19 pandemic, the global average annual carbon dioxide concentration has set to rise again during the 2021, reaching a new record. The energy from the Sun on the Earth’s surface in less than two hours matches the current global energy consumption in a year. If we were able to properly use it, we would largely satisfy the entire energy demand of the humankind and decrease the pollution created by the combustion of fossil fuels. Yet, solar light is diffuse and intermittent, suggesting that a cost-effective and efficient way to store its energy it is necessary. A way to overcome these issues is the production of simple fuels (e.g. H2, CH3OH, C2H5OH), which can efficiently store energy in their chemical bonds. An environmental-friendly way to produce them is to use incident solar photon energy to drive energetically uphill reactions, such as the water splitting and the reduction of CO2. The natural global demand of the incident solar energy is 5000 times less than the incident solar light. Therefore, harvesting such enormous excess to produce fuels from water and CO2 offers an extraordinary opportunity to “take three pigeons with the same stone”, namely a) to reduce CO2 pollution, b) to address the energy supply and storage, and c) to wean the humankind off the fossil fuels dependence, in agreement with the United Nations sustainable development goals n° 7 and n° 13.The final objectives of LuSH Art are to develop new hybrid nano heterostructures and to develop new luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) for solar fuels production by taking inspiration from the energy migration approach that occurs in a natural leaf.
The research work performed during LuSH Art project has been dedicated to synthesizing nanostructured materials based on no-toxic nanocrystals coupled with more conventional semiconductors for CO2 reduction. CuInS2 emitting in the near infrared region of the solar spectrum were chosen as heavy metal free quantum dots (QDs). As more conventional semiconductor photocatalyst, TiO2 was selected to be coupled with QDs. Green syntheses based on template-free and mild thermal treatments were developed to tailor the amount of polymorphic heterojunctions in the TiO2 substrate. Different characterization techniques such as X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) with Rietveld refinement, X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Z-Potential measurements, Transmission and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopies, were applied to analyze their structural and morphological properties. Static and transient absorption spectroscopies in the UV-vis and NIR-IR have been applied to study the interaction and the energy transfer among the different crystalline phases/nanomaterials. The new nanocomposites in water have been tested for CO2 reduction under simulated solar light and the products have been analyzed with gas chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography. New concepts about LSC applications in photocatalysis have been developed.
This project has involved industrial collaboration with the Renewable Energy and Environmental R&D Center in Novara. The fellow has also been co-tutor of a PhD Student. The results and the work during LuSH Art have come out into three scientific publications, two scientific conferences and other manuscripts are already submitted or under preparation. The project has been presented to a broad audience through two Sharper-Research Night events (2020-2021) in a hybrid form and through some interviews for public websites. Lessons for high and middle schools have also been given. Social channels (e.g. twitter account, website page, facebook page) have be launched during the project. Unfortunately, the project has been run under Covid-19 pandemic, therefore the work has been adapted to match all the social and working restrictions during these months.
This project has involved industrial collaboration with the Renewable Energy and Environmental R&D Center in Novara. The fellow has also been co-tutor of a PhD Student. The results and the work during LuSH Art have come out into three scientific publications, two scientific conferences and other manuscripts are already submitted or under preparation. The project has been presented to a broad audience through two Sharper-Research Night events (2020-2021) in a hybrid form and through some interviews for public websites. Lessons for high and middle schools have also been given. Social channels (e.g. twitter account, website page, facebook page) have be launched during the project. Unfortunately, the project has been run under Covid-19 pandemic, therefore the work has been adapted to match all the social and working restrictions during these months.
The results from LuSH Art project are going to advance the knowledge of the design of new heterostructured nanomaterials based on nanocrystals and heterojunctions and it will help to fabricate new luminescent solar concentrators for photochemical reactions. New achievements have been also reached in template-free syntheses to easily tailor the amount of the different TiO2 polymorphs, which can create heterojunctions capable of promoting the photocatalytic performance of the material. The project has been carried out according to a multidisciplinary approach, by investigating chemical, physic, photocatalytic and chemical engineering aspects of the nanomaterials and solar devices.
LuSH Art results will give a contribution on the climate change fighting and consequently a positive impact on both our environment and life.
LuSH Art results will give a contribution on the climate change fighting and consequently a positive impact on both our environment and life.