SusChEM: Photocatalytic Generation of Hydrogen from Water using Organic Nanofibril Catalysts

PI：凌藏建议编号：1502433氢气是一种清洁的零碳燃料，可以使用一种称为燃料电池的装置将其转化为电能，用于电动汽车或工业应用。今天生产的大部分氢气来自天然气加工，主要来自化石燃料资源。然而，未来的氢气来源将需要来自可再生资源，如果它们要成为我们可持续能源未来的一部分。该项目的目标是开发廉价的聚合物材料，利用阳光驱动反应，将水转化为氢气。在这项拟议的研究中，导电有机聚合物将被挤压成纳米直径的纤维，旨在捕获太阳光子。嵌入在聚合物中的催化剂材料通过一种称为光催化的过程，利用这些吸收的光子将水分子分解为氢和氧气气体。这项研究将制造和测试这些材料从水中产生氢气的性能。参与该项目的学生将接受可再生能源和纳米技术的培训。该项目还将为犹他州自然历史博物馆开发氢气生产演示，向公众展示可再生能源的研究。这项研究的目标是合成和表征新型有机聚合物纳米纤维基光催化材料，用于将水分解为氢气。这些纳米纤维同时包含聚合物和金属共催化剂纳米颗粒，是多功能的，结合了可调带结构、可见光谱响应和大比表面积的特性。在研究计划中，有机聚合物纳米纤维将由含有给体-受体部分的积木分子合成，这些分子对广泛的可见光有反应。施主-受主材料界面也将被设计成在照明时增加电荷分离，以及将光生电子有效地传输到将质子转化为氢的辅助催化剂位置。这种界面还将被设计成最大限度地吸收光生电子，同时防止它们与阳离子自由基重新结合。时间分辨电子自旋共振测量将表征界面电子清除如何依赖于聚合物和助催化剂中的颗粒大小和能级排列。所合成的纳米纤维光催化剂的产氢活性将与量子效率、循环次数以及对照射波长的依赖关系相关。作为教育活动的一部分，将通过犹他州科学中心和犹他州纳米研究所由NSF赞助的Nanoday提供基于太阳能燃料和太阳能光伏主题的研讨会。

PI: Ling ZangProposal Number: 1502433Hydrogen gas is a clean and zero-carbon fuel which can be converted to electrical power using a device called a fuel cell for electric vehicle or industrial applications. Most of the hydrogen gas produced today comes from processing of natural gas, primarily from fossil fuel resources. However, future sources of hydrogen will need to come from renewable resources if they are to become part of our sustainable energy future. The goal of this project is to develop inexpensive, polymer-based materials that will convert water into hydrogen gas using sunlight to drive the reaction. In the proposed research, electrically conductive organic polymers will be extruded into nanometer diameter fibrils designed to capture the suns photons. Catalyst materials imbedded in the polymer help to split apart the water molecule to hydrogen and oxygen gas using these absorbed photons through a process called photocatalysis. The research will make and test the performance of these materials for generation of hydrogen from water. Students involved in this project will be trained at the interface of renewable energy and nanotechnology. The project will also develop hydrogen production demonstration for Natural History Museum of Utah to illustrate renewable energy research to public audiences.The goal of this research is to synthesize and characterize the performance of new organic polymer nanofibril based photocatalytic materials for the splitting of water into hydrogen gas. These nanofibers, which contain both polymer and metal co-catalyst nanoparticles, are multifunctional, combining the properties of tunable band structure, visible spectral response, and large surface area. In the research plan, the organic polymer nanofibers will be synthesized from building-block molecules containing donor-acceptor moieties responsive to wide range of visible light. The donor-acceptor material interface will also be engineered for increased charge separation upon illumination, as well as for the efficient transport of the photo-generated electrons to the co-catalyst sites that convert protons to hydrogen. This interface will also be engineered to maximize the intake of the photogenerated electrons while preventing their recombination with cationic radicals. Time-resolved electron spin resonance measurements will characterize how interfacial electron-scavenging depends on particle size and energy level alignment in the polymer and co-catalyst. Hydrogen production activity of the synthesized nanofibril photocatalysts will be correlated to quantum efficiency, turnover numbers, and dependence on irradiation wavelength. As part of the educational activities, workshops based on solar fuels and solar photovoltaics topics will be offered through Utah Science Center and the NSF-sponsored Nanodays at Nano Institute of Utah.