Novel Multifunctional Materials for Solar Light Harvesting and Energy Conversion

Energy and environment are among the most important issues nowadays.

The purpose of this research project is to develop novel multifunctional materials, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), for solar light harvesting. To achieve high efficiency, photoactivity and stability are the keys. I therefore propose a new concept of periodic mixed-metal MOFs (PMM-MOFs), to tailor these functions.

We will also study the atomic structures, growth mechanism and electrocatalytic reaction mechanism of the novel materials.

The new materials will significantly contribute to a wide scope of photochemical applications, such as solar-hydrogen generation, and solar-oxygen evolution.

The concept of PMM-MOF is expected to provide new possibilities for designing other types of novel materials to solve energy and environmental problems of our society.

This project will also fundamentally advance our knowledge on chemistry and material science through the new understanding on crystal growth and photocatalytic reaction mechanisms.

This project will be implemented in 4-years: the first 2-years for the design and synthesis of PMM-MOFs and the study of crystal growth mechanism. The application and catalytic mechanism studies will be performed in the last 2-years.