Register now After registration you will be able to apply for this opportunity online.
This opportunity is not published. No applications will be accepted.
Synchrotron light illuminates artificial photosynthesis: A glimpse into solar water splitting
You are a chemist, physicist or material scientist who thinks renewable energy is this century's key technology? You are curious about other research than batteries? You are driven by curiosity and a desire to understand materials? You have a passion for spectroscopy? Then here you are right!
Keywords: Photoelectrochemistry, water-splitting, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, materials research, nanoparticle synthesis, thin film fabrication, renewable energy
For this project we have the great opportunity to go and measure at Europe's largest synchrotron, the ESRF in Grenoble!
We prepared ourselves for about two years to put all necessary pieces together and we are finally ready for the beamtime.
Your job will be to join us in the one week experiment and be the first to analyze and interpret the data.
We will use a special kind of X-ray absorption spectroscopy in which we measure X-ray fluorescence to observe our materials at work. Our approach towards an artificial photosynthesis technology is photoelectrochemical water splitting and we normally use metal-oxide semiconductors for this purpose. We apply an electrical voltage to a nanometer thin film of such an oxide and illuminate it with solar light to split water into oxygen and hydrogen. We know that materials can corrode in water and that your skin can get sunburned. Now try to imagine the combination of both plus an electrical bias that we need to split water. How is our material supposed to react to this environment?
This is what we would like to find out!
**Candidate and Project**
For this very interdisciplinary project, we seek a motivated student with interests in X-ray spectroscopy and photoelectrochemistry. A similar background is helpful but curiosity is even more. For more background information on the topic please just contact me via SiROP or email.
For this project we have the great opportunity to go and measure at Europe's largest synchrotron, the ESRF in Grenoble! We prepared ourselves for about two years to put all necessary pieces together and we are finally ready for the beamtime. Your job will be to join us in the one week experiment and be the first to analyze and interpret the data.
We will use a special kind of X-ray absorption spectroscopy in which we measure X-ray fluorescence to observe our materials at work. Our approach towards an artificial photosynthesis technology is photoelectrochemical water splitting and we normally use metal-oxide semiconductors for this purpose. We apply an electrical voltage to a nanometer thin film of such an oxide and illuminate it with solar light to split water into oxygen and hydrogen. We know that materials can corrode in water and that your skin can get sunburned. Now try to imagine the combination of both plus an electrical bias that we need to split water. How is our material supposed to react to this environment?
This is what we would like to find out!
**Candidate and Project**
For this very interdisciplinary project, we seek a motivated student with interests in X-ray spectroscopy and photoelectrochemistry. A similar background is helpful but curiosity is even more. For more background information on the topic please just contact me via SiROP or email.
The goal of this project for us is to observe materials at work and prove our experimental design and hypothesis. All other techniques only allow to examine materials before and after their work. We want to find out what happens in between!
Your goal would be to help us measure and interpret the data and thereby to enter the fascinating world of synchrotron science, X-ray spectroscopy and photoelectrochemistry.
The goal of this project for us is to observe materials at work and prove our experimental design and hypothesis. All other techniques only allow to examine materials before and after their work. We want to find out what happens in between! Your goal would be to help us measure and interpret the data and thereby to enter the fascinating world of synchrotron science, X-ray spectroscopy and photoelectrochemistry.
Philipp Jäker (HCI F 506) philipp.jaeker@mat.ethz.ch
Dr. Dorota Koziej dorota.koziej@mat.ethz.ch
Philipp Jäker (HCI F 506) philipp.jaeker@mat.ethz.ch
Each year the IDEA League offers the students of its partner universities over 180 monthly grants for a short-term research exchange. In general, these grants are awarded based on academic merit. For more information visit http://idealeague.org/student-grant/