Transition Metal Chalcogenides and Surfaces for Energy Conversion Devices

In recent times electrocatalytic and photoelectrocatalytic water splitting has emerged as one of the most potent form of clean energy generation. This project is focused on designing efficient catalysts from earth-abundant resources based on transition metal chalcogenides for electrocatalytic water splitting and integrating these new catalysts with solar photoabsorber nanostructure arrays. Catalyst design follows a simple hypothesis which optimizes catalytic performance based on the material’s properties, specifically anion electronegativity and degree of covalency in the structure. Rational design of the electrocatalyst will be achieved through combinatorial electrodeposition whereby, a phase diagram will be explored in a systematic way by varying relative amounts of respective precursor in the electrolyte. Along with new material synthesis, chemical identity of the active surface of the catalysts will be elucidated from various surface analytical techniques by carefully designing various surfaces and comparing their activities