Research Projects

Over the past half-century, the growth of population, urbanization, and industrialization have led to significant challenges in the energy sector worldwide. Over 80% of energy demands are derived from fossil fuels, with India experiencing a significant increase in energy scarcity. This leads to the generation of large amounts of CO2 gas and environmental damage. Scientists are now exploring alternative sustainable technologies to produce green fuels from renewable resources. Currently, hydrogen production primarily comes from fossil fuels through high-temperature steam reforming and partial oxidation, which are limited by high production costs, low quantum efficiency, and millions of tons of CO2 discharge. Researchers have explored alternative methods, such as biomass processes and photoelectrochemical water splitting using nanostructured materials. However, commercial and practical applications have achieved less than 2% of overall quantum efficiency and water splitting efficiencies due to high charge recombination and low light absorption. The majority of quantum dot sensitized photoelectrodes materials are based on heavy metals, leading to long-term environmental issues. The stability of the photoelectrodes system is crucial for its durability. The introduction of metal-free quantum dot sensitized semiconductor materials could increase the number of charge carriers, light absorption, and system stability. The proposed proposal aims to address the charge carrier dynamics, charge separation/transport efficiency, and efficiency and stability of the photoelectrodes hydrogen gas evolution system.

2