Computational Design and Synthesis of Novel Photocatalytic Materials for Clean Energy

Topic:

Our group is developing novel catalysts to: (a) remove water and gas phase contaminants, (b) produce hydrogen via photocatalytic water splitting and (c) transform CO2 into fuels via photoreduction. Our projects include research funded by Materials Genome Initiative (under the White House OSTP) to facilitate theory driven design of novel photocatalysts. The recent discoveries include the very first synthesis of GaN-ZnO catalysts under high pressures and temperatures, where hydrogen production was achieved with no sacrificial reagents or co-catalysts. We also focus on scaling up synthesis of catalysts and large scale applications of photocatalysis.

Representative Publications:

Qiyuan Wu, Jiajie Cen, Kenneth R Goodman, Michael G. White, Girish Ramakrishnan, and Alexander Orlov*, Understanding the Interactions of CO2 with Doped and Undoped SrTiO3, ChemSusChem, 2016, 9, Accepted.
DOI:10.1002/cssc.201600498

Shen, P., Lofaro, J.C., Worner, W., White, M.G., Orlov, A., "Photocatalytic activity of hydrogen evolution over Rh doped SrTiO3 prepared by polymerizable complex method", Chemical Engineering Journal, 2013, 223, 200–208.

Colmenares-Angulo, J., Zhao, S., Young, C., Orlov, A., "The effects of thermal spray technique and post-deposition treatment on the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 coatings", Surf. Coat. Tech., 2009, 204(4), 423-427.

In, S., Kean, A.H., Orlov, A., Tikhov, M. S., Lambert, R. M., "A versatile new method for synthesis and deposition of doped, visible light-activated TiO2 thin films", Energy and Environmental Sciences, 2009, 2, 1277.