Photocatalysis, the use of light-harvesting to promote chemical reactions is essential for diverse applications, ranging from the production of clean and sustainable fuel out of water, CO2 reduction, water purification and waste consumption, 2&3D printing, etc. However, photocatalysis is still not widely utilized mainly because the discovery of efficient photocatalytic systems is highly challenging and depends on stringent requirements, including high turnover number, selectivity, stability, and environmental compatibility. In our group, we develop novel types of photocatalysts, study the fundamental parameters affecting the photocatalytic efficiency and reaction specificity to reveal their mechanism of action and imply the nanocrystals as photocatalysts in the abovementioned applications and others. Hybrid semiconductor–metal nanoparticles (HNPs) manifested unique, synergistic electronic and optical properties as a result of combining semiconductor and metal physics via a controlled interface. These structures can exhibit spatial charge separation across the semiconductor–metal junction upon light absorption. The combination of the photocatalytic activity of the metal domain with the ability to generate and accommodate multiple excitons in the semiconducting domain lead to improved photocatalytic quantum yield. Read more in our recent review in Advanced Materials.

 

 

Quantum Photoinitiators for Rapid 3D printing in water and solvent free condition

Localized photopolymerization in three-dimensional (3D) printing enables additive manufacturing of objects with micro nanoscale resolution. We have recntly demonstrated the use of quantum photointiators to enable rapid 3D printing in aerobic and solvent free conditions.