Media and Press Links
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The direct integration of electrocatalysts with photovoltaic materials provides a strategy to photoelectrochemically power chemical transformations and store intermittent solar energy as fuels. However, many electrocatalytic components used or proposed for use in such assemblies also absorb visible light. This prompts the questions: to what extent does a selected electrocatalytic coating screen photons from reaching the underlying photovoltaic, do excited-state species associated with coating layers contribute to photocurrent production via mechanisms involving dye-sensitization processes, and are relatively high or low loadings of catalytic sites advantageous. Herein, we providing a general yet useful strategy for adressing thes questions and better understanding the origin of photocurrents and fuel production activities in catalyst-modified semiconductor electrodes.
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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced the selection of 76 scientists from across the nation – including 26 from DOE’s national laboratories and 50 from U.S. universities – to receive significant funding for research as part of the DOE Office of Science’s Early Career Research Program. The effort, now in its eleventh year, is designed to bolster the nation’s scientific workforce by providing support to exceptional researchers during crucial early career years, when many scientists do their most formative work.
The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation is a leading nonprofit organization devoted to the advancement of the chemical sciences. It was established in 1946 by chemist, inventor and businessperson Camille Dreyfus in honor of his brother, Henry. The foundation seeks to support the advancement of chemistry, chemical engineering, and related sciences as a means of improving human relations and circumstances around the world.
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The design of sophisticated new materials is undergoing brisk technological advancement. Innovations in material science promise transformative improvements in industries ranging from energy to manufacturing.
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WORK BY WADSWORTH AND CO-AUTHORS GRACES COVER OF ACS APPLIED MATERIALS AND INTERFACES Inspired by nature, where amino acid residues and soft-material coordination environments regulate the midpoint potentials of metals in proteins, the rational design of molecular interfaces provides opportunities to control the electrochemistry of metals on surfaces. Herein, Wadsworth and coauthors describe the immobilization of metallocomplexes onto transparent conductive oxide supports using molecular-based attachment strategies that enable synthetic control over the redox response of the composite electrode assemblies. |
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Wadsworth, et al., JACS.
2019, 141, 15932-15491. |
WORK BY WADSWORTH AND CO-AUTHORS GRACES COVER OF JACS. The article describes the interplay between light absorption, charge transfer and catalytic activity at molecular-catalyst-modified semiconductor liquid junctions. The related kinetics are modeled using steady-state and pre-equillibrium aproximations, yielding rate laws similar in form to those applied in studies invovling classic enzymatic reactions and Michaelis-Menten-type analysis. This work forges a link between kinetic models decribing biological ensemblies and emerging molecular-based technologies for solar energy conversion, providing a conceptual framework for extracting kinetic benchmarking parameters currently not possible to establish.
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EXTRACTING CLEAN FUEL FROM SUNLIGHT. ASU NOW reports on research from the G. F. Moore Lab, pioneering new technologies for clean and sustainable energy.
GRADUATE STUDENT BRIAN WADSWORTH APPEARS ON ARIZONA PBS CHANNEL 8 to describe his research on producing clean fuel with solar power and chemical reactions.
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ODELLA, WADSWORTH, MORA AND CO-AUTHORS PUBLISH IN JACS (Cover Article). The article, titled: Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer Drives Long-Range Proton Translocation In Bioinspired Systems, describes the design of bioinspired molecules that employ oxidation–reduction processes to move reversibly two, three, and four protons via a Grotthuss-type mechanism along hydrogen-bonded networks up to ∼16 Å in length. These molecules are composed of benzimidazole moieties linking a phenol to the final proton acceptor, a cyclohexylimine. Following electrochemical oxidation of the phenol, the appearance of an infrared band at 1660 cm–1 signals proton arrival at the terminal basic site. Switching the electrode potential to reducing conditions reverses the proton translocation and resets the structure to the initial species.
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Odella, et al., JACS.
2019, 141, 14057-14061. |
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DIANA KHUSNUTDINOVA NAMED SPRING 2019 OUTSTANDING GRADUATE. Diana's Dissertation for the degree Doctor of Philosophy is titled: Electrocatalytic and Photoelectrosynthetic Hydrogen Production using Metalloporphyrins and Molecular-modified Gallium Phosphide Photocathodes.
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WADSWORTH, KHUSNUTDINOVA, AND MOORE PUBLISH IN JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY A THEMED ISSUE ON EMERGING INVESTIGATORS. Each contributor was recommended by experts in their fields as carrying out work with the potential to influence future directions in materials chemistry.
Wadsworth, et al., J. Mater. Chem. A. 2018, 6, 21654-21665. |
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Khusntdinova, et al., ACS Catalysis
2018, 9, 9888-9898. |
WORK BY KHUSNUTDINOVA, WADSWORTH, AND CO-AUTHORS GRACES COVER OF ACS CATALYSIS. The cover art illustrates the molecular structure of the reported catalyst, a binuclear copper(II) fused porphyrin, and the union of two protons to synthesize the chemical product, hydrogen. Under appropriate conditions, a single molecule of the catalyst produces more than 2,000,000 molecules of hydrogen per second (a rate constant among the highest reported in the literature). This work explores the concept of leveraging extended aromaticity as a strategy for breaking unfavorable scaling relationships associated with multi-proton multi-electron redox catalysis and providing an alternative to use of electron withdrawing or donating substituents to favor electron transfer at reduced bias potentials while unfavorably altering kinetics of associated proton transfer steps.
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ASU SCHOLARS, STUDENTS, EMBEDDED IN INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES WITH RESEARCH IN INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES. ASU has a wide breadth of research and interactions taking place in Indian Country. Health care, language preservation, molecular sciences, sustainability, research methodologies, and higher education experiences were among the topics discussed at the 2018 Doing Research in Indigenous Communities Conference. |
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Odella, et al., JACS
2018,140, 15450-15460 |
ODELLA, MORA, WADSWORTH, AND CO-AUTHORS PUBLISH IN JACS. The article, titled: Controlling Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer in Bioinspired Artificial Photosynthetic Relays, reports on Bioinspired constructs consisting of benzimidazole-phenol moieties bearing N-phenylimines as proton-accepting substituents designed to mimic the H-bond network associated with the TyrZ-His190 redox relay in photosystem II. In these constructs, the extent of proton translocation along the H-bond network, either ∼1.6 Å or ∼6.4 Å, can be controlled through imine substitution.
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WORK BY KHUSNUTDINOVA AND CO-AUTHORS FEATURED ON JOURNAL OF PORPHYRINS AND PHTHALOCYANINES COVER. The article, titled: Vibrational structure analysis of cobalt fluoro-porphyrin surface coatings on gallium phosphide, demonstrates the use of GATR–FTIR spectroscopy as a sensitive tool for characterizing porphyrin-modified surfaces with absorption signals that are close to the detection limits of many common spectroscopic techniques.
Khusntdinova, et al., J. Porphyrins Phthalocyanines. 2018, 22, 461-468. |
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SAFE SUSTAINABLE SCIENCE EARNS ASU RESEARCHER PRAISE. Moore (right) accepts the Laboratory Safety Innovation Award from Professor Jingyue Liu, chair of the safety and outreach subcommittee of the University Laboratory Safety Committee. Moore’s work to both conserve water and increase safety earned him and his group the inaugural award.
Ardo, et al., Energy Environ. Sci.
2018, 11, 2768-2783. |
PATHWAYS TO ELECTROCHEMICAL SOLAR-HYDROGEN TECHNOLOGIES. This article condenses the perspectives of ~50 basic scientists, engineers, and social scientists, from academia, government, and industry, and reports on high-potential pathways for commercialization opportunities of solar-hydrogen technologies. By doing so, the article identifies key barriers for the deployment of these technologies both in the short term and long term. The insights provided in this perspective paper intend to contribute to defining new directions for research in the solar fuels field, and to enable future solar-hydrogen ventures that capitalize on technical advances from the scientific community.
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BEILER AND COWORKERS PUBLISH IN INORGANIC CHEMISTRY. The article describes how thin-film polypyridyl surface coatings can be used to assemble cobalt porphyrin catalysts for hydrogen production onto a a gallium phosphide semiconductor. Key features of the hybrid photocathode include the use of visible light to drive cathodic fuel-forming reactions in aqueous solutions with no added organic acids or sacrificial chemical reductants.
Beiler, et al., Inorg. Chem.
2017,56, 12178-12185 |
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MOORE RECEIVES NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION CAREER AWARD. The CAREER award is the National Science Foundation's most prestigious and competitive honor for early-career investigators. CAREER awards support junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through research, education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations.
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KHUSNUTDINOVA AND COWORKERS PUBLISH IN PHOTOSYNTHETICA. The article is part of a special issue dedicated to Govindjee and describes the synthesis and characterization of a novel cobalt(II) 5,10,15,20-tetrakis (3-fluorophenyl)porphyrin bearing a 4-vinylphenyl surface attachment group at a beta position on the macrocycle.
Khusnutdinova, et al.,
Photosynthetica.2018,1, 67-74. |
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ANNA M. BEILER RECEIVES CLAS GRADUATE EXCELLENCE AWARD AND ARCS FOUNDATION SCHOLORSHIP. Beiler's thesis research is specifically focused on methods to interface molecular catalysts that can produce fuels, such as hydrogen or reduced forms of carbon dioxide, with visible-light absorbing semiconductors.
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U.S. RESEARCHERS SUPPORT "SOLAR FUELS INNOVATION ACT", prompting an initiation to expand scientific knowledge about converting solar energy into chemical energy. Specifically, supporting research about: (1) replicating natural photosynthetic processes in artificial photosynthesis processes, and (2) generating a variety of fuels produced from sunlight through artificial photosynthesis. (A photosynthetic process is one used by plants to convert light from the sun into chemical energy. Artificial, human-made photosynthesis mimics the natural process.)
DIANA KHUSNUTDINOVA AND ANNA M. BEILER RECEIVE RECOGNITION AT THE 2017 BIODESIGN FUSION RETREAT. Diana Khusnutdinova was invited to present results form her publication in Chemical Science and Anna. M Beiler received the Marie Curie Award For Best Use of Chemistry.
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WADSWORTH AND COWORKERS PUBLISH IN ACS CATALYSIS, reporting how the unique encapsulating environments of surface-grafted polymeric architectures provide a molecular strategy for improving the chemical stability of surface-immobilized catalysts. Wadsworth, et al., ACS Catal.
2016, 6, 8048-8057 |
Photosynthesis: Structures, Mechanisms, and Applications
Editors: Hou, H.J.M., Najafpour, M.M., Moore, G.F.,
Allakhverdiev, S.I. (Eds.)
Covers several very new topics on photosynthesis, all under one volume
Editors: Hou, H.J.M., Najafpour, M.M., Moore, G.F.,
Allakhverdiev, S.I. (Eds.)
Covers several very new topics on photosynthesis, all under one volume
ANNA BEILER PARTICIPATES AS A DISCUSSION LEADER IN THE 2016 ELECTRON DONOR ACCEPTOR INTERACTIONS GORDON RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM SESSION: ELECTRON TRANSFER IN MOLECULES AND BEYOND.
KHUSNUTDINOVA AND COWORKERS PUBLISH IN CHEMICAL SCIENCE. The 'Edge Article' describes a novel synthetic methodology to chemically graft metalloporphyrin catalysts to a visible-light-absorbing semiconductor with the aim of constructing an integrated photocathode for light activating chemical transformations that include converting solar energy to fuels. Characterization of a cobalt-porphyrin based assembly under simulated 1-sun illumination indicate the highest per metal site turnover frequency of hydrogen production reported to date for a molecular-catalyst-modified semiconductor photoelectrode operating at the proton/hydrogen equilibrium potential.
Khusnutdinova, et al., Chem. Sci.
2017, 8, 253-259.
2017, 8, 253-259.
NEWS THE LATEST: ENERGY INNOVATION: TAPPING THE POWER OF THE SUN
Photo: (From left to right) Samuel I. Jacob, Diana Khusnutdinova, Anna M. Beiler and Gary F. Moore)
Photo Credit to Joseph Caspermeyer
Photo: (From left to right) Samuel I. Jacob, Diana Khusnutdinova, Anna M. Beiler and Gary F. Moore)
Photo Credit to Joseph Caspermeyer
DIANA KHUSNUTDINOVA RECEIVES THE GEORGE U. YUEN AWARD
Photo: (From left to right) Gary F. Moore, Diana Khusnutdinova and Neal Woodbury
Photo Credit to Mary Zhu
DIANA KHUSNUTDINOVA FEATURED IN SEEING SCIENCE / PEOPLE AT WORK
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MOORE GROUP WINS BEST PAPER IN DIVISION AT BOSTON ACS
