“Light, Camera, Electrons: lonisation Potentials of Solids”

Prof. Aron Walsh
Dept. of Materials, Imperial College London, UK

2016.10.28. 2PM
E6-6, Lecture Room 118

The absolute energies of electrons in solids determine important chemical and physical processes; however, they are notoriously difficult to measure or calculate. I will present a brief history of the development of the topic over the past century, in particular, on the transition from phenomenological to first-principles theoiries.
By quantifying the bulk and surface contributions to the binding energy of electrons in solids, it is possible to provide deep insights into applications that involve electron transfer. These include photo-catalysis, electrochemical energy storage, and solar cells, where there is tigh demand for the development of materials with enhanced performance. I will discuss recent examples from my research ranging from polymorphism in titanium dioxide[1,2] to the development of electroactive metal-organic frameworks[3,4].

1. Scanlon, D. O. et al. Band Alignment of Rutile and Anatase TiO2. Nat. Mater. 12,798 (2013).
2. 2. Buckeridge, j. et al. Polymorph Engineering of TiO2: Demonstrating How Absolute Reference Potentials Are Determined by Local Coordination. Chem. Mater. 27, 3844 (2015).
3. Butler, K. T., Hendon, C. H. & Walsh, A. Electronic chemical potentials of porous metal-organic frameworks. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 136, 2703 (2014).
4. Nasalevich, M. et al. Electronic origins of photocatalytic activity in d0 metal organic frameworks. Sci. Rep. 6, 23676 (2016).