C01 Hybrid assemblies for fundamental studies of photo-induced multi-step charge transfer catalysis (Meyer, Siewert, Jooss)

This interdisciplinary project aims to control multi-step charge transfer in hybrid assemblies for electrically and light driven reduction of carbon dioxide and oxidation of water. The hybrid systems consist of molecular catalysts for water splitting or carbon dioxide reduction anchored to an oxide absorber film which is capable of injecting excited holes or electrons and offer complementary catalytic functions. Since both reactions require accumulation of charge carriers at well adjusted redox potentials, a main goal is the study of the role of correlation effects on charge transfer via spatially and temporally resolved methods.

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Fig. 1: The C01 project aims at developing a system for photocatalytic water splitting by a modular approach (schematically shown). An oxide photoabsorber provides the energy for an anchored molecular catalyst to split water. First experiments could show the functionality by electrochemistry.

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Fig. 2: Struktur eines Katalysators für die elektrochemische CO2-Reduktion. Die Metallatome sind rot, Sauerstoff- blau, Stickstoff- grün und Kohlenstoffatome grau dargestellt.