Georg Forster Research Fellow explores photocatalysts
Dr. Moses Alfred Oladele is working on photocatalysis for CO2 conversion in a joint project with the group of Dr. Matt Mayer, HZB, and Prof. Andreas Taubert at the University of Potsdam. The chemist comes with a Georg Forster Research Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. © HZB
Dr. Moses Alfred Oladele is working on photocatalysis for CO2 conversion in a joint project with the group of Dr. Matt Mayer, HZB, and Prof. Andreas Taubert at the University of Potsdam. The chemist from Redeemer's University in Ede, Nigeria, came to Berlin in the summer of 2024 with a Georg Forster Research Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and will work at HZB for two years.
Dr Moses Alfred Oladele studied Industrial Chemistry in Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba-Akoko (BSc), and continued his studies for the Master’s degree in Redeemer’s University in Ede, Osun State, Nigeria, where he also obtained his doctorate in 2021. He has since worked as a lecturer at Redeemer's University and as a scientist at the African Centre for Environmental and Water Research (ACE WATER), developing low-cost materials for environmental remediation of toxic wastes in water and monitoring pollutants in South West Nigeria.
In Matt Mayer's group, he will focus on researching new low-cost catalyst materials that can be activated by sunlight and used to convert CO2 into valuable chemicals with a net zero carbon footprint.
- 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.
- Metallic nanocatalysts: what really happens during catalysisUsing a combination of spectromicroscopy at BESSY II and microscopic analyses at DESY's NanoLab, a team has gained new insights into the chemical behaviour of nanocatalysts during catalysis. The nanoparticles consisted of a platinum core with a rhodium shell. This configuration allows a better understanding of structural changes in, for example, rhodium-platinum catalysts for emission control. The results show that under typical catalytic conditions, some of the rhodium in the shell can diffuse into the interior of the nanoparticles. However, most of it remains on the surface and oxidises. This process is strongly dependent on the surface orientation of the nanoparticle facets.
- KlarText Prize for Hanna TrzesniowskiThe chemist has been awarded the prestigious KlarText Prize for Science Communication by the Klaus Tschira Foundation.