Catalyst Projects provide support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities to work towards establishing research capacity of faculty to strengthen science, technology, engineering and mathematics undergraduate education and research. It is expected that the award will further the faculty member's research capability, improve research and teaching at the institution and involve undergraduate students in research experiences. The award to the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff has potential to broaden impacts in several areas. The goal of this project is to study the use of light, electricity and novel materials to generate hydrogen and oxygen from water. The production of these gases proves to be useful for proposed space travel. Several undergraduate students will participate in this work and learn techniques and theories related to nanomaterial fabrication and energy production. This project is jointly funded by HBCU-UP and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).
Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting using nanomaterials is one of the most promising techniques to generate hydrogen in an easier, cheaper and sustainable way. PEC water splitting is a process which involves generation of charge carriers (electrons and holes) by solar radiation and their transfer to respective electrodes to produce H2 and O2. However, charge separation and transportation are the major concerns in PEC water splitting. Here we propose to develop a novel and highly efficient PEC water splitting nanocatalyst, by carefully growing a PEC-efficient catalyst with a suitable band width nanomaterial on a three-dimensional nanographene scaffold via a convenient one-pot hydrothermal synthesis. This novel nanocatalyst can achieve high surface to volume ratio which therefore facilitates charge separation and suppress electron-hole pair recombination. In addition, the desired PEC catalyst?s band width can be realized by controlling its size and morphology. Optimum conditions for synthesizing the desired nanostructures will be established to maximize the water-splitting efficiency. Results will help solve the hydrogen and oxygen shortage during space missions and surface applications.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
