Posterprize for HZB postdoc Prince Saurabh Bassi
Bassi presented results on new phases in the quaternary Fe-Ti-W-O system for application as photoelectrocatalyst in light-assisted water splitting. © HZB
Dr. Prince Saurabh Bassi was awarded the poster prize at “International Bunsen-Discussion-Meeting on Fundamentals and Applications of (Photo) Electrolysis for Efficient Energy Storage”. He is a postdoctoral fellow working with Prof. Sebastian Fiechter in the Institute for Solar Fuels.
The poster was titled: “Survey and Synthesis of Photoactive Phases in the Quaternary System Fe-Ti-W-O Supported by Combinatorial Screening Experiments”. It was chosen from 53 posters presented during two poster sessions of the conference with 150 participants. The meeting was held in Taormina, Italy from 1st to 5th April 2019. The prize was sponsored by the Royal Society of Chemistry (Journal of Materials Chemistry A, B and C and Materials Horizons). A book voucher was also gifted to him by the society.
In the poster, Bassi presented latest results on the survey and synthesis of new phases in the quaternary Fe-Ti-W-O system for application as photoelectrocatalyst in light-assisted water splitting. The inability to find systems possessing favorable characteristics like optimum band gap for efficient solar light absorption and electrochemical, aqueous and thermodynamic stability, have led the scientific community to explore complex ternary and quaternary oxide systems. Since they encompass complimentary properties of their constituent binary oxides, their properties can be tuned by varying their stoichiometry.
He fabricated thin film photoelectrodes of the hit composition Fe48Ti30W22Ox, obtained from the combinatorial screening, using a simple spin coating route. The structural analysis revealed that - after temperature annealing – a new quaternary oxide appeared crystallizing in a distorted Ferberite structure together with the ternary phases Fe2TiO5 and Fe1.7Ti0.23O3. His work proves to be a bridge between combinatorial studies and thin film fabrication and characterization of photoactive hit region compositions.
- Special prize by Jugend Forscht awarded to former school internShaoxuan Wang has won a special prize in the Jugend Forscht competition for her project ‘Smart Capsules – intelligent microcapsules for glucose-dependent insulin release’. She designed the project as a “special achievement” for her A-levels. To carry out the experimental work, Shaoxuan was able to spend a further two weeks in the laboratory at the HZB Institute for Electrochemical Energy Storage, where she had completed a school internship two years earlier.
- Green hydrogen with PEC electrolysers: New insights into transport processesOne method of storing solar energy is to use PEC electrolysers to produce hydrogen. However, scaling up this technology remains challenging. Now, a team at the HZB Institute for Solar Fuels has used 2D fluorescence imaging and particle velocimetry to observe the movement of ions and dissolved gases within the electrolyte during electrolysis. These new insights may prove useful in the development of larger PEC electrolysers.
- New contact material boosts the efficiency of perovskite solar cellsA newly developed material for the electron contact improves the efficiency of single perovskite solar cells and perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells. The new material is based on a carborane molecule. It offers several advantages over the standard material C60, as shown by the study led by Steve Albrecht’s team. The new material has since been patented and is already commercially available.