Dissertation
Photoinduced processes in dye-sensitized photoanodes under the spotlight: a multiscale in silico investigation
With increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere and their detrimental effect on the global climate, modern society needs to push for more renewable energy sources. Storing widely accessible and abundant solar energy in chemical bonds in the form of molecular fuel via artificial photosynthesis can support this endeavour.
- Author
- Menzel, J.P.
- Date
- 03 March 2022
- Links
- Thesis in Leiden Repository
With increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere and their detrimental effect on the global climate, modern society needs to push for more renewable energy sources. Storing widely accessible and abundant solar energy in chemical bonds in the form of molecular fuel via artificial photosynthesis can support this endeavour. Dye-sensitized Photoelectrochemical Cells are promising candidates for Solar-to-fuel conversion; however, their efficiency is still lacking and needs further improvement. Computational Simulations can provide insight in fundamental mechanisms and guide the search for suitable molecular components and interfaces to improve the performance of such devices. In this thesis, a wide range of computational tools are applied to investigate the photoinduced processes and catalytic intermediates involved in dye-sensitized photoanodes for water oxidation. Through combination of semi-empirical methods with DFT and quantum-classical approaches, large scale molecular simulations of extended photoanode systems including electrode, dye and water oxidation catalyst become feasible. The insights gained from these fundamental processes are used to evaluate and optimize molecular components in silico.