Photoelectrochemical hydrogen production: a deeper fundamental insight and hydrogen by reduction at the photocathode side
Dr. Ir. Bjorn Joos
Hasselt University
In this lecture, we will discuss the fundamental basis of photoelectrodes, starting from bandgaps to the fermi level to photovoltages. Furthermore, the photocathodes will be discussed, going into their properties, promises, and pitfalls along with some prime candidates. Lastly, we will highlight some in-house research on photocathodes at Hasselt University.
Biography
Bjorn graduated ‘cum laude’ from his studies of Chemical Engineering at the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), where he did his master thesis on the photocatalytic reduction of water by cadmium-zinc sulfide loaded porous oxides in the group of prof. dr. ir. Hensen. After an industrial internship at Umicore R&D, he pursued a PhD candidate position at Hasselt University with a doctoral candidate fellowship from the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO). Within the group of prof. Hardy & prof. Van Bael, Bjorn mainly investigated the synthesis and characterization of hybrid solid-state electrolytes for use in Li-ion batteries. A side-project on Li-S batteries also brought him to the group of prof. Nazar (UWaterloo, Canada) to introduce the technology at Hasselt University. After his PhD, he remained at Hasselt University as a postdoctoral researcher working on several short research projects on Li-ion batteries in collaboration with research institutes and industry. The increased cooperation between Hasselt University and TNO led his research towards photo electrochemical splitting of water for the renewable production of hydrogen gas. Currently, he focusses on the synthesis and characterization of abundant oxide materials as photo-electrode materials for hydrogen production and CO2 reduction along with several doctoral candidates within a multitude of projects such as SYN-CAT, BE-HyFE, T-REX, etc.
