Research Projects

The project aims at utilizing the cost-effective method and smart choice of materials for efficient and sustainable green hydrogen production via water splitting. Photoelectrochemical water splitting using solar energy in tandem configuration using two photoelectrode is the approach I look for. In materials perspective, the project focus on enhancing the performance of low cost and narrow bandgap photoelectrocatalysts like Fe2O3, Cu2O, and BiVO4, which suffer from low charge separation and slow reaction kinetics by utilizing single atom catalysts (SACs). In water splitting, the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at the anode is a major bottleneck due to its four electron transfer steps. Minimizing the overpotential for OER is critical to improving the efficiency of the process. The overall efficiency of a photoelectrocatalytic system is governed by light absorption, charge separation, and surface reaction efficiency. For efficient solar absorption, low bandgap materials like Fe2O3 (2.1 eV)/BiVO4 (2.4 eV) and Cu2O (2.1 eV) with nanorod morphology will be opted for OER and hydrogen evolution reactions (HER), respectively. However, these materials suffer from poor charge separation and slow reaction kinetics. To improve charge separation efficiencies, strategies like doping, and creating oxygen vacancies will be adopted. A thin layer of defective TiO2 will be used as passivation layer to prevent the photo corrosion of the photoactive materials. Single-atom catalysts (SACs) have been proposed as a solution to improve the slow reaction kinetics. SACs, first studied in 2011, offer high atomic utilization, remarkable mass activity, and selectivity, making them ideal for electrocatalytic applications where it is unexplored for photoelectrocatalytic water splitting. This proposal aims to use transition metal based (precious metals like Pt, Ru, Ir, etc. and low-cost metals like Co, Ni, Mo, W, etc.) SACs in combination with low-bandgap semiconductors like Fe2O3/BiVO4 and Cu2O to improve the efficiency of both OER and HER. The integration of the efforts on efficient light absorption, charge separation, surface passivation and enhanced reaction kinetics; the choice of materials; and simple synthesis strategies is believed to yield an efficient, stable, and economical photoelectrocatalysts for green hydrogen production. Finally, the project also aims at fabricating the tandem photoelectrochemical cell using single atom based photoanode (modified Fe2O3/BiVO4) and photocathode (modified Cu2O) and evaluate both unassisted and assisted solar water splitting. By focusing on low-cost materials and innovative catalyst designs, the goal is to contribute to the cost-effective scaling of green hydrogen technology and hence reduce the current cost of green hydrogen. Importantly, I believe the project will contribute to the India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission and also have positive impact globally.