Title: Exploring the Applications of Photon-to-Electron Materials Based on Functional Molecular Design and Synthesis

Time: 2023-10-25 15:00 - 16:00

Venue: Institute for Energy Research, 1517

Organizer: Institute for Energy Research

Research Profile: Dr. Cai Bin, a Ph.D. in Engineering, completed his doctoral studies in August 2020 at Dalian University of Technology. Following this, he embarked on a short-term research visit to Lanzhou University. To date, he has been engaged in postdoctoral research at Uppsala University in Sweden since March 2021. In recent years, his research has been primarily towards addressing the imperative of carbon neutrality, focusing on the critical field of photoelectric functional materials for solar cells and solar fuels. His main interest centers on the precise control of the separation and transfer of photo-generated charges at the molecular level. He has joined several prominent research projects, including two international collaboration initiatives supported by the NSFC, a key research project supported by the NSFC, and one general project funded by the NSFC. In addition, he has held a research project funded by the Swedish Wenner-Gren Foundation. He has published 31 SCI papers in esteemed international journals, including 6 first-author SCI such as J. Am. Chem. Soc., Angew. Chem., and J. Mater. Chem. A. He has also filed one patent application as the first author, and he has two additional first-author papers currently under review, including one in Advanced Materials.

Abstract: With the shortage of fossil fuels and the resulting environmental pollution issues, countries around the world have been proposing "carbon neutrality" goals. Photon-to-electron functional materials can directly convert solar energy into electrical or chemical energy, making them a green, clean, and sustainable option. As a result, interest in the research of photon-to-electron functional materials has been steadily increasing. Among them, organic photon-to-electron functional materials have advantages such as easily modifiable structures, convenient preparation and purification, and readily available raw materials. In the context of their application in solar cells and solar fuels, different properties for those functional materials are required depending on the varied photoelectric devices. As for the perovskite solar cells, I have designed and synthesized various organic hole-transport materials with excellent performance. As for organic synthesis, I synthesized recyclable photocatalysts for organic compound synthesis via photocatalysis and as organic photosensitizers in the photo electrocatalytic production of hydrogen peroxide. Furthermore, I have conducted in-depth research on the mechanisms of these organic functional materials during the photoelectric conversion process, providing valuable insights for future related studies.