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.
- Porous Radical Organic framework improves lithium-sulphur batteriesA team led by Prof. Yan Lu, HZB, and Prof. Arne Thomas, Technical University of Berlin, has developed a material that enhances the capacity and stability of lithium-sulphur batteries. The material is based on polymers that form a framework with open pores (known as radical-cationic covalent organic frameworks or COFs). Catalytically accelerated reactions take place in these pores, firmly trapping polysulphides, which would shorten the battery life. Some of the experimental analyses were conducted at the BAMline at BESSY II.
- KlarText Prize for Hanna TrzesniowskiThe chemist has been awarded the prestigious KlarText Prize for Science Communication by the Klaus Tschira Foundation.
- Shedding light on insulators: how light pulses unfreeze electronsMetal oxides are abundant in nature and central to technologies such as photocatalysis and photovoltaics. Yet, many suffer from poor electrical conduction, caused by strong repulsion between electrons in neighboring metal atoms. Researchers at HZB and partner institutions have shown that light pulses can temporarily weaken these repulsive forces, lowering the energy required for electrons mobility, inducing a metal-like behavior. This discovery offers a new way to manipulate material properties with light, with high potential to more efficient light-based devices.