Photosensitizers and Photocatalysis

Photocatalytic hydrogen generation is a promising candidate for a renewable energy source and attracts currently intensive scientific attention. However, the notion about the involved processes is quite vague and only little is known about the responsible mechanisms and the factors determining the efficiency. This project aims at characterization of the photoinduced molecular processes involved in the photocatalytic hydrogen generation and at elucidation of their mechanisms by steady-state and time-resolved experimental methods. Special attention is paid to the dynamics of the electronic excited states, the electron and energy transfer processes involved in the homogeneous, photocatalytic reaction scheme, and the determination of the efficiencies of single reaction steps. The complex reaction system investigated includes a photosensitizer, which is photoexcited in the primary photochemical process, a mediator to separate the generated electron-hole pair and to avoid its recombination, a catalytic active species for the actual hydrogen reduction and a sacrificial electron donor to maintain the reversibility of the total process.

Kontakt

Institut für Physik

AG Dynamik molekularer Systeme
Albert-Einstein-Straße 23-24
18059 Rostock
Tel: 0381 498 6960