Professor Emiliano Cortés, at LMU, is changing solar power capture through nanotechnology. By establishing plasmonic nanostructures, his group develops products that concentrate solar energy more efficiently. Their most current breakthrough, a supercrystal that produces hydrogen from formic acid using sunshine, holds the world record in its field. Credit: SciTechDaily.comHydrogen is a structure block for the energy transition. To get it with the aid of solar power, LMU scientists have developed brand-new high-performance nanostructures. The product holds a world record for green hydrogen production with sunlight.When Emiliano Cortés goes hunting for sunlight, he doesnt utilize enormous mirrors or stretching solar farms. Quite the contrary, the professor of experimental physics and energy conversion at LMU dives into the nanocosmos. “Where the high-energy particles of sunshine, the photons, meet atomic structures is where our research study begins,” Cortés states. “We are dealing with product options to record and utilize solar power more efficiently.” Innovative Solutions for Solar EnergyHis findings have great prospective as they allow novel solar batteries and photocatalysts. The market has high hopes for the latter due to the fact that they can make light energy available for chemical responses– bypassing the need to generate electrical energy. There is one major challenge to using sunlight, which solar cells likewise have to contend with, Cortés knows: “Sunlight shows up on Earth diluted, so the energy per location is relatively low.” Photovoltaic panel make up for this by covering big areas.Emiliano Cortés is working on material services to record and utilize solar energy more efficiently. Credit: © Nano Energy GroupCortés, however, is approaching the problem from the other direction, so to speak: With his group at LMUs Nano-Institute, which is moneyed, among others, by the e-conversion cluster of excellence, Solar Technologies go Hybrid (an effort of the Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst) and the European Research Council, he is establishing so-called plasmonic nanostructures that can be used to concentrate solar energy.A Breakthrough in Solar Energy ConversionIn a recent publication in the journal Nature Catalysis, Cortés, together with Dr. Matías Herran, now at Fritz Haber Institute, Berlin, and cooperation partners from the Free University of Berlin and the University of Hamburg, present a two-dimensional supercrystal that generates hydrogen from formic acid with the assistance of sunshine.” The product is so exceptional, in truth, that it holds the world record for producing hydrogen using sunlight,” Cortés points out. This is excellent news for the production of both photocatalysts and hydrogen as an energy carrier considering that they play an essential function in a successful energy transition.Concentrating Solar Energy With Miniature MagnetsFor their supercrystal, Cortés and Herrán use 2 different metals in nanoscale format. “We initially produce particles in the range of 10-200 nanometers from a plasmonic metal– which in our case is gold,” Herrán discusses. “At this scale, a special phenomenon accompanies plasmonic metals, which likewise consist of silver, copper, magnesium, and aluminum: visible light interacts really strongly with the electrons of the metal, triggering them to oscillate resonantly.” This suggests that the electrons move collectively really rapidly from one side of the nanoparticle to the other, creating a type of mini-magnet. Experts describe this as a dipole moment. “For the occurrence light, this is a strong modification so that it consequently connects far more strongly with the metallic nanoparticle,” Cortés explains. “Analogously, one can think about the procedure as a superlens concentrating the energy. Our nanomaterials do that but on the molecular scale.” This allows the nanoparticles to catch more sunlight and transform it into very high-energy electrons. These, in turn, aid drive chemical reactions.Nano Hotspots Unleash Catalytic PowerBut how can this energy be harnessed? For that purpose, the LMU scientists teamed up with scientists at the University of Hamburg. They organized gold particles in an organized style on a surface according to the principle of self-organization. The particles need to be very close however not touching for maximized light-matter interactions.In partnership with a research study group from Freie Universität Berlin, which studied the optical properties of the product, the LMU scientists discovered that light absorption increased often times over. “The gold nanoparticle selections focus the incoming light extremely efficient, yielding, extremely localized and strong electrical fields, the so-called hotspots,” states Herrán.These type between the gold particles, which gave Cortés and Herrán the concept of placing platinum nanoparticles, a classic and effective catalyst material, right in the interspaces. This was again done by the research team from Hamburg.” Platinum is not the material of choice for photocatalysis because it absorbs sunshine inadequately. Nevertheless, we can require it in hotspots to improve this otherwise bad absorption and power chemical responses with the light energy. In our case, the response transforms formic acid into hydrogen,” Herrán explains.With a hydrogen production rate from formic acid of 139 millimoles per hour and per gram of driver, the photocatalytic product currently holds the world record for H2 production with sunlight.Towards Sustainable Hydrogen ProductionToday, hydrogen is primarily produced from fossil fuels, predominantly from natural gas. To switch to a more sustainable production, research study teams around the world are dealing with innovations that utilize alternative feedstocks– including formic acid, ammonia, and water. The focus is likewise on establishing photocatalytic reactors suitable for massive production. “Clever product solutions like ours are a crucial structure block for the success of the technology,” pointed out the two scientists.” By integrating plasmonic and catalytic metals, we are advancing the development of powerful photocatalysts for commercial applications. It is a brand-new method to utilize sunshine and one that provides potential for other reactions such as the conversion of CO2 into functional compounds,” Cortés and Herrán discuss. The 2 scientists have already patented their product development.Reference: “Plasmonic bimetallic two-dimensional supercrystals for H2 generation” by Matias Herran, Sabrina Juergensen, Moritz Kessens, Dominik Hoeing, Andrea Köppen, Ana Sousa-Castillo, Wolfgang J. Parak, Holger Lange, Stephanie Reich, Florian Schulz and Emiliano Cortés, 30 November 2023, Nature Catalysis.DOI: 10.1038/ s41929-023-01053-9.
Professor Emiliano Cortés, at LMU, is reinventing solar energy capture through nanotechnology. “We are working on product options to catch and use solar energy more efficiently. Solar panels compensate for this by covering big areas.Emiliano Cortés is working on product services to capture and utilize solar energy more effectively. Credit: © Nano Energy GroupCortés, however, is approaching the issue from the other direction, so to speak: With his team at LMUs Nano-Institute, which is funded, among others, by the e-conversion cluster of quality, Solar Technologies go Hybrid (an effort of the Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst) and the European Research Council, he is developing so-called plasmonic nanostructures that can be utilized to concentrate solar energy.A Breakthrough in Solar Energy ConversionIn a current publication in the journal Nature Catalysis, Cortés, together with Dr. Matías Herran, now at Fritz Haber Institute, Berlin, and cooperation partners from the Free University of Berlin and the University of Hamburg, present a two-dimensional supercrystal that produces hydrogen from formic acid with the help of sunshine. This is excellent news for the production of both photocatalysts and hydrogen as an energy provider since they play a crucial function in an effective energy transition.Concentrating Solar Energy With Miniature MagnetsFor their supercrystal, Cortés and Herrán use 2 different metals in nanoscale format.