Photocatalytic Approaches to Hydrogen Production from Water

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Professor Felix N. Castellano, Department of Chemistry and Center for Photochemical Sciences, Bowling Green State University, is supported by the Inorganic, Bioinorganic, and Organometallic Chemistry Program to address the growing demand for renewable energy sources and to ensure global environmental integrity. The heart of the work is concerned with converting terrestrial solar photons and water to an environmentally friendly, non-carbon based combustible chemical fuel (hydrogen) using molecular catalysts in conjunction with semiconducting metal oxide nanomaterials. A molecular level understanding of the chemical steps leading to hydrogen production in nanoscopic systems can then be broadly applied to water splitting reactions, where water is broken down into molecular oxygen (O2) and hydrogen (H2). This project investigates the hydrogen-producing capabilities of novel inorganic structures, which will be characterized by extensive photophysical and photochemical studies, including excited state electron transfer. Such extensive laser-based studies are crucial, since the events immediately following light absorption ultimately determine the fate of the excited state chemistry and thus, the photochemical H2 production. The proposed work will continue to foster the scientific and professional education of undergraduate and graduate students as well as postdoctoral associates and visiting scientists. It is anticipated that the new scientific insights developed in this project will contribute to the overarching goal of establishing an environmentally sound energy future for the planet.