Executive Summary : | Artificial photosynthesis is one the viable strategies for obtaining sustainable carbon-neutral energy. However, most of the systems reported so far possess low overall efficiencies. Moreover, most of the chromophores and catalysts reported in literature for artificial photosynthesis utilize expensive rare metals. In this proposal I propose to synthesize and utilize organic and inorganic earth-abundant metal chromophores and catalysts for light-driven H2O oxidation to O2 and CO2 reduction to fuel. Photoelectrochemical processes will be studied by spectroscopic and electrochemical methods on semiconductor metal oxide surfaces to better understand the processes and novel new systems will be developed based on those knowledges. |