Direct solar energy conversion to sustainable and storable solar fuels offers a promising route toward less reliance on fossil fuels. In nature, plants take in carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight, and turn it into the chemicals they need, with oxygen as the only byproduct. We are aim to mimic the natural photosynthetic process, also called artificial photosynthesis, on the interface of the semiconductor/co-catalyst/electrolyte at ambient conditions. In a general broad view, artificial photosynthesis includes the pure water splitting, carbon dioxide reduction and nitrogen fixation via the reduction of atmospheric dinitrogen to ammonia. One of the most critical challenges in artificial photosynthesis is the extremely low efficiency. To attain a high efficiency comparable or even superior to nature, several critical issues should be carefully addressed: 1) The development of photoelectrode, especially the photoanode, with high efficiency and long-term durability in an aqueous environment; 2) The rational design of co-catalysts having a decent catalytic turn-over rate that matches the current flow of the light absorber; 3) The efficient charge transfer at the solid-solid interfaces between the photoelectrode/photoelectrode (Z-scheme) and photoelectrode/co-catalyst. It is also necessary to emphasize that operando probing artificial photosynthetic process is essential to illuminate the design rules that govern material composition, micro/nanostructure, and architecture for the highly efficient overall system.

   SEE lab is interested in the design and synthesis of new classes of materials and nanostructures for the rational optimization of photo- and electricity-driven production of fuels, with an emphasis on understanding the fundamental questions behind. Future work in the group will primarily focus on theoretical prediction, chemical integration, and operando probing of artificial photosynthetic systems. Major efforts will be placed on design and integration of nanostructures by incorporating well-defined heterojunctions for high efficient solar energy conversion. Significant efforts will also be devoted to developing efficient in-situ electrochemical (EC) techniques, such as EC-atomic force microscopy, and EC-photoluminance to image the real surface reaction under the operating conditions.