A paper published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society by CEE’s Dr. Jaehong Kim has offered up critical research on photo sensitization of semi-conductor photocatalysts.
The paper, entitled “Encapsulated Triplet–Triplet Annihilation-Based Upconversion in the Aqueous Phase for Sub-Band-Gap Semiconductor Photocatalysis” was co-authored by Dr. Jae-Hyuk Kim, a Georgia Tech post-doctoral fellow and a member of Jaehong Kim’s research group.
The two researchers report on the first instance of aqueous-phase photosensitization of semiconductor photocatalysts through triplet-triplet annihilation (TTA)-based upconversion of sub-band–gap photons.
Upconversion (UC) is the process of absorbing two or more lower-energy photons, combining their energy, and emitting one higher-energy photon.
“Upconversion has been the subject of extensive research over the past decade for its potential to enhance the efficiency of photonic devices in an innovative way,” said Jaehong Kim, a Georgia Power Distinguished Associate Professor and associate CEE chair. “It allows them to harvest otherwise-wasted lower-energy portions of the solar spectrum.”
Kim predicts that the production of an efficient TTA upconversion in the ambient, oxygen-rich aqueous phase environment will open new doors for many sunlight-powered applications, including alternative energy technologies such as hydrogen production and environmental remediation technologies, where UC materials can be coupled with widely used semiconductor photo catalysts, bioimaging, and anti-counterfeiting technology.
Learn more about Dr. Jaehong Kim's work.