Catalytic Water Splitting

Catalytic water splitting is an appealing way of using solar energy to produce clean, carbon-free, and renewable energy source. We concentrate on developing new catalytic systems for both the reduction and the oxidation of water. More emphases are placed on water oxidation, not only because this process is the key step in natural and artificial photosynthesis for solar-energy conversion but also because it is thermodynamically unfavorable and is challenging from a kinetic point of view. Our research in water oxidation catalysts can be divided into two categories, including homogeneous and heterogeneous catalyst systems. Studies on homogeneous systems can provide significant information regarding basic water oxidation mechanism and the structure-and-activity relationship, while studies on heterogeneous systems can apply catalysts with extremely high activity and stability that are necessary for real large-scale applications.

Oxygen Reduction and Carbon Dioxide Fixation

Oxygen reduction is a fundamental process involved in biological oxygen metabolism and also plays an important role in energy conversion such as fuel cells and metal/air batteries. Carbon dioxide fixation, including the conversion to carbonate and the reduction to other carbon sources, is significant in biology, energy and environmental sciences. Our research focuses on studying the basic reaction mechanisms involved in these processes by using molecular complexes developed in the lab. By providing crucial information to better understand the activation of these small molecules, we aim to obtain new catalyst systems with more efficiency and better selectivity.