CAREER: Tuning Perovskite Nanocrystals with Transition Metal to Enable Selective Photocatalytic Organic Synthesis

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).

With the support of the Chemical Catalysis program in the Division of Chemistry, Yong Yan of San Diego State University is investigating solar cell materials as catalysts that use solar energy to produce valuable organic chemicals. Nature efficiently stores solar energy in the form of chemical bonds, leading to formation of complex organic compounds via photosynthesis.

Key to this natural process is a catalytic system that is efficient both in capturing light and in promoting chemical transformations of interest. Synthetic catalysts that efficiently capture and store renewable solar energy in the form of valuable chemicals remains a significant challenge. This project will focus on materials known as metal halide perovskites, which are the most efficient and economical solar cell materials currently available.

The project will examine closely the merits of perovskite materials to facilitate both efficient light capture and selective chemical transformations in a manner that mimics natural photosynthesis. Dr. Yan will engage in outreach programs to eoncourage financially-challenged and under-represented undergraduate students to pursue graduate studies in the interdisciplinary fields of energy, environment and ehemistry.

At San Diego State University, Dr. Yan also plans to incorporate perovskite solar cell materials synthesis into the undergraduate chemistry program, with the aim of cultivating early-stage student interest in renewable and sustainable energy.

With the support of the Chemical Catalysis program in the Division of Chemistry, Yong Yan of San Diego State University will study the scope and limitations of metal halide perovskites (i.e. APbBr3 where A = Cs, methylammonium etc.) to serve as solar energy-powered photocatalysts for highly selective organic transformations. The light-induced charge-separation and charge-transfer efficiency of perovskites seen in modern photovoltaics, should also benefit their use in photocatalysis.

The newly designed perovskite system being investigated here is readily tunable with transition metal ions via A-site exchange, leading to active transition metal sites on the perovskite surface. Of course, decades of research show that transition metal catalysis plays a remarkable role in highly selective chemical bond formation. The research being undertaken here seeks to merge widely applicable transition metal catalysis with perovskite photocatalysis to develop unique combined nanocrystalline catalytic systems and potentially open exciting new realms in highly selective catalytic organic synthesis.

High school student interns will be taught to synthesize some of the perovskite nanocrystals and undergraduate students enrolled in an inorganic chemistry course at San Diego State University will be guided in the synthesis of tunable perovskite photocatalysts providing valuable hands-on exposure to state-of-the-art solar energy-harvesting materials as part of this project.

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.