The aim of the project is to investigate the photocatalytic activity of perovskites and carbon-nitride surfaces with nanoclusters on top. The comparison of these two materials will lead to a better understanding of fundamental aspects and mechanisms of the photocatalytic process. Under ultra-high vacuum conditions the critical parameters, which may lead to direct local electric field-plasmonic enhancement of photocatalytic events, will be characterised. CO2 reduction will be the model reaction to show the photochemical potential of the perovskites and carbon-nitrides.

The main task for the project partner in Berlin is to prepare the carbon nitride based photocatalyst for the analytical methods provided by the Isreali partners. The main question for the two collaborating groups at The Hebrew University (Micha Asscher and Lioz Etgar) is to investigate to what extent running photochemical experiments on top of plasmonic nano-particles may enhance the outcome of the photoreaction. In particular, utilisation of halide-perovskite substrates that are known to absorb in the visible and are well known for their photovoltaic activity were chosen for this study.

Project duration: 01.05.2017 – 31.05.2020

Website: Einstein Foundation Berlin [2]

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI Jerusalem)

Einstein Foundation Berlin

Julian Rieß [3]

J. Rieß, M. Lublow, S. Anders, M. Tasbihi, A. Acharjya, K. Kailasam, A. Thomas, M. Schwarze, R. Schomäcker, XPS studies on dispersed and immobilised carbon nitrides used for dye degradation, Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2019, 18, 1833-1839 (Link [4])