Photoelectrochemical Reduction of Carbon Dioxide Using Earth-Abundant Materials

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。化学学部支持加州理工学院（Caltech）的Paul Bracher为美国化学竞争力研究员。Bracher博士将研究使用天然存在的半导体矿物（如ZnS， MnS）作为二氧化碳光电化学还原的催化剂。Bracher将与加州理工学院化学创新中心的Harry B. Gray教授和其他科学家合作。此外，他将与Nano-Terra（剑桥，马萨诸塞州）的工业科学家合作。在扩大参与的计划中，布拉彻博士将与身体残疾的青少年合作，鼓励他们追求自己对科学的兴趣。此外，Bracher博士将维护一个网站（和博客），将太阳能化学主题带给更广泛的受众。像布拉彻博士这样的研究旨在开发新型化学物质，利用丰富的资源——二氧化碳——来制造有价值的化学物质。这类研究的另一个目的是研究早期地球光合作用的机制。Bracher博士正在进行的扩大参与的努力旨在增加来自代表性不足群体的年轻人对科学的参与。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).The Division of Chemistry supports Paul Bracher of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) as an American Competitiveness in Chemistry Fellow. Dr. Bracher will investigate the use of naturally occurring semiconductor minerals (e.g. ZnS, MnS) as catalysts for the photoelectrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide. Bracher will work in collaboration with Prof. Harry B. Gray and other scientists in the "Powering the Planet" Center for Chemical Innovation at Caltech. In addition, he will collaborate with industrial scientists at Nano-Terra (of Cambridge, MA). In his plan for broadening participation, Dr. Bracher will work with youngsters with physical disabilities to encourage them to pursue their interests in science. In addition, Dr. Bracher will maintain a website (and blog) to bring solar chemistry topics to a broader audience. Research like that of Dr. Bracher is aimed at developing new kinds of chemistry that take advantage of a plentiful resource -- carbon dioxide -- to make valuable chemicals. Another aim of research like this is to investigate the mechanisms of photosynthesis on the early earth. The efforts at broadening participation being pursued by Dr. Bracher are aimed at increasing the participation of young people from underrepresented groups in the sciences.