Powerful Lifetime-Resolved Photoluminescence Coupled with a Steady-State Spectrometer for the Development of Efficient Solar-to-Fuels Photocatalysts

全球能源危机和环境问题促使人们强烈寻求清洁和可再生能源来取代化石燃料。通过光催化水分解和二氧化碳减排，从取之不尽的太阳能中生产清洁和可再生能源是解决全球能源短缺、环境污染和温室效应的“梦想技术”。我们目前和未来的研究重点是设计新的高效的阳光驱动纳米结构光催化剂，用于水分解产生氢和光还原二氧化碳成碳氢化合物，如甲烷和甲醇。这些产品被认为是下一代能源的载体和来源。为了开发这种高效的阳光驱动光催化剂，研究其氧化还原反应能力的有效性是非常重要的，这在很大程度上是由光催化剂中受激载流子寿命的增加所增强的。*******在此背景下，本提案旨在获得终身分辨的光致发光结合稳态光谱仪来研究载流子的动力学，从而开发用于太阳能转化燃料和环境修复的高效光催化剂。值得注意的是，我们是拉瓦尔大学第一个研究利用阳光开发太阳能转化燃料的光催化剂的研究小组。目前，拉瓦尔大学没有这种要求的设备系统。因此，所要求的设备对于我们开发高效光催化剂******的研究项目的成功执行和完成至关重要

The global energy crisis and environmental problems drive the intense search for a clean and renewable energy source to replace the fossil fuels. The production of clean and renewable energy from inexhaustible solar energy through photocatalytic water splitting and CO2 reduction is a «dream technology» to address the worldwide energy shortage, environmental contamination, and the greenhouse effect. Our current and future research are focused on the design of new efficient sunlight-driven nanostructured photocatalysts for the water splitting to produce hydrogen and the photo-reduction of CO2 into hydrocarbons such as methane and methanol. These products are considered as next-generation energy carriers and sources. Towards such development of efficient sunlight-driven photocatalysts, it is very important to study their efficacy in terms of their ability to perform the redox reactions, which is largely empowered by the increased lifetime of excited charge carriers in the photocatalysts.*******In this context, this proposal aims at acquiring a lifetime-resolved photoluminescence combined with a steady-state spectrometer to study the dynamics of charge carriers, thereby to develop efficient photocatalysts for solar converted fuels and as well as for environmental remediation. It is important to note that we are the first research group at Laval University to study the development of sunlight-driven photocatalysts for solar-converted fuels using sunlight. At present, no such requested equipment system is currently available at Laval University. Thus, the requested equipment is essential for the successful execution and completion of our research projects on the development of efficient photocatalyst******