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Nanowires are promising building blocks for artificial photosynthesis.
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Nanocrystals can be designed with specific catalytic functionality.
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Nanowires enable novel solar cell geometries for improved performance.
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The nanowire geometry is intriguing for miniaturized optics and photonics.
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Nanowires can inhibit heat transport for next-generation thermoelectrics.
Highlighted
News
Sept 2017
Dohyung's paper in PNAS is reported by LBNL News Center: "Copper Catalyst Yields High Efficiency CO2-to-Fuels Conversion -- Berkeley Lab scientists discover critical role of nanoparticle transformation".
This work has also been reported in C&EN: "Copper nanoparticles could help recycle CO2 into fuel -- New catalyst converts carbon dioxide to two- and three-carbon compounds".
Mike's work on syngas electrosynthesis in JACS is reported by LBNL News Center: "Scientists Fine-Tune System to Create ‘Syngas’ from CO2".
Aug 2017
Kelsey's work presented at the American Chemical Society meeting in Washington has been reported by BBC News: "Cyborg bacteria deliver green fuel source from sunlight".
This work has also been reported by Berkeley News: "Cyborg bacteria turn sunlight into useful chemicals" and also released by ACS: "Cyborg bacteria outperform plants when turning sunlight into useful compounds".
(click image to watch the video [courtesy of American Chemical Society])
Woochul's work on "ultralow thermal conductivity in all-inorganic halide perovskites" has been highlighted in LBNL News Center, titled "A Semiconductor That Can Beat the Heat".
A newly discovered collective rattling effect in a type of crystalline semiconductor blocks most heat transfer while preserving high electrical conductivity – a rare pairing that scientists say could reduce heat buildup in electronic devices and turbine engines, among other possible applications.
Jun 2017
Letian, Minliang and Chris' work has been highlighted in LBNL online News Center, titled New Class of ‘Soft’ Semiconductors Could Transform HD Displays. "Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have shown that a class of semiconductor called halide perovskites is capable of emitting multiple, bright colors from a single nanowire at resolutions as small as 500 nanometers."
Woochul will join University of Hawaii at Manoa as an assistant professor. Congratulations!
May 2017
Peidong gave a talk on Cal Future Forum sharing the solutions for a sustainable future where he gave the audience a glimpse into the potential of artificial photosynthesis, a way to create renewable energy that doesn’t cause a net release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The technology, he said, can transform carbon dioxide and water into chemical fuels using sunlight.
Congratulations to Dandan (Ph.D), Fan (Ph.D), Cindy (B.S.), Nigel (Ph.D) and Yude (Ph.D) on graduating!
Dr. Letian Dou will join the department of Chemical Engineering, Purdue University as an assistant professor. Congratulations!
April 2017
Nigel and Yude have won the MRS Graduate Student Awards, congratulations!
New Scientists reported our photosynthetic cyborg cell research as a cover story. Make like a leaf: How copying photosynthesis can change society
Chong Liu (Ph. D. Chemistry 2015) joins Department of Chemistry, UCLA, as an assistant professor. Congratulations!
March 2017
Rong Fan (Ph. D. Chemistry 2006) has received tenure at Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University! Congratulations!
NASA Selects First-Ever Space Technology Research Institute. As part of the Berkeley CUBES program, we will continue to develop our artificial photosynthesis program to produce chemical fuels, fertilizers, and pharmaceuticals from CO2, H2O, N2 and sunlight!
Dr. Jongwoo Lim joins Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University as an assistant professor. Congratulations!
Dandan and Yude won the Chinese Oversea Outstanding Graduate Student Award. Congratulations!
January 2017
Our lab has won a UC Berkeley Excellence in Laboratory Safety Award in the "Large Chemical Sciences Lab" category! Congratulations!
December 2016
Dr. Yi Yu joins Shanghai Tech University as an assistant professor! Congratulations!
November 2016
Peidong retains his status as a Thomson Reuters "Highly Cited Researcher" for the year of 2016. In addition, he has been shortlisted as a Finalist for the 2016 World Technology Awards!
Our work on artificial photosynthesis is featured, among other groups, in C&EN's recent cover story, Will the Artificial Leaf Sprout to Combat Climate Change?
Zhiqiang and Nigel's recent paper is featured by Nature Energy, in Electrocatalysis: Understanding Platinum Migration. Excerpt: "This work is an elegant illustration of the degree of control that synthetic chemists can now achieve when making the next generation of electrocatalytic nanocrystals."
