CAREER: SusChEM: Hybrid Nanoparticles of the Copper Sulfides

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Janet E Macdonald from Vanderbilt University is supported by the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry Program in the Division of Chemistry and the Sustainable Chemistry, Engineering and Materials (SusChEM) initiative to pursue research into the preparation of new photocatalysts based on nanoparticles of the family of copper sulfides. The research aims to develop shape and size controlled syntheses to new and underexplored phases of the copper sulfides, and to gain a fundamental understanding of their crystallographic structures and photoluminescence phenomena. Syntheses of hybrid metal-semiconductor nanoparticles of the copper sulfides will also be developed and studied for their photoinduced charge separation and application towards photocatalytic water splitting to give H2 gas.These syntheses and new nanoparticles will facilitate the study of advanced photocatalyst design, and the building of stable, active, non-toxic, viable photocatalysts for green fuel generation from solar energy. The educational goals of this CAREER award is in part to integrate the research into outreach programs to Tennessee middle and high school students through the Vanderbilt Summer Academy and the Vanderbilt Students Volunteer for Science, thereby encouraging economically disadvantaged and underrepresented groups into careers in the physical and material sciences.