International Collaboration in Chemistry: Microphase Photo-Electrochemistry: Light-Driven Liquid-Liquid Ion Transfer Processes and Two-Phase Micro-Photovoltaic Systems

在这项由美国国家科学基金会化学部、分析和表面化学项目和国际科学与工程办公室支持的研究中，Blanchard（密歇根州立大学）和Marken（英国巴斯大学）的研究小组重点研究了微相液体、液体界面和三相边界的光电化学过程。这种结构提供了一种独特的环境，在这种环境中，受激分子和反应中间体非常接近电极表面和液体界面。研究这类系统的目的在于这些类型的结构在光合作用等过程中所起的关键作用。该项目分为四个相互关联的主要部分：(A)利用荧光探针阴离子研究电化学或光电化学驱动的离子转移过程，(B)研究和筛选液体界面和三相边界上同时发生的电子和离子转移，(C)研究在选定界面上涉及电子和离子转移的两相过程，(D)表征液体的局部环境：使用荧光探针分子来了解界面的电位和穿过界面的离子通量如何影响局部环境。这个研究项目的更大目的，除了理解复杂相间系统中的光电化学动力学之外，是教育学生掌握多学科科学的前沿。美国必须培养多样化的学生群体，使他们在科学事业上具有全球竞争力。这项研究是这一努力的重要载体。通过促进Blanchard（密歇根州立大学）和Marken（英国巴斯大学）研究小组之间的协同关系，将培养一批具有全球竞争力的多国科学家，这将直接使美国和英国受益。这个项目将促进建立一个双边智库，并将促进在研究和发展领域自由交流思想，这对生物系统和能源转换之间的界面的科学有直接影响。在这项合作研究中开发的想法和实验可以帮助筛选和识别新的光收集过程，可能模仿自然过程，因此有助于新的能量收集/存储/管理系统。

In this research supported by the NSF Chemistry Division, Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program and Office of International Science and Engineering, Blanchard (Michigan State University) and Marken (University of Bath, UK) research groups focus on studying photo-electrochemical processes at microphase liquid:liquid interfaces and at triple phase boundaries. Such structures offer a unique environment where excited molecules and reaction intermediates are in close proximity to both electrode surfaces and liquid:liquid interfaces. The goal in studying such systems lies in the critical role that these types of structure play in processes such as photosynthetic light harvesting. The project is divided into four main, interconnected parts: (A) the study of electrochemically or photo-electrochemically driven ion transfer processes using fluorescent probe anions, (B) the study and screening of simultaneous electron and ion transfer at liquid:liquid interfaces and triple phase boundaries, (C) the investigation of two-phase processes involving electron and ion transfer at selected interfaces, and (D) characterizing the local environment at liquid:liquid interfaces using fluorescent probe molecules for the purpose of understanding how the potential of the interface and flux of ions across the interface affects the local environment.The larger purpose of this research program, beyond understanding photo-electrochemical dynamics at complex interphase systems, is to educate students at the cutting edge of multidisciplinary science. It is imperative that the United States train a diverse population of students to be globally competitive for careers in science. This research serves as an important vehicle in that effort. By fostering a synergistic relationship between the Blanchard (Michigan State University) and Marken (University of Bath UK) research groups, a multinational cohort of globally competitive scientists will be educated, directly benefiting both the United States and the United Kingdom. This project will facilitate the creation of a bilateral think tank and will foster the free exchange of ideas in a field of research and development that has direct impact on science at the interface between biosystems and energy conversion. The ideas and experiments developed in this collaborative study can help screen and identify new light harvesting processes, possibly mimicking natural processes, and therefore contribute to new energy harvesting/storage/management systems.