Bio-inspired Catalysts for Water Oxidation

The light-driven splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen is considered the "Holy Grail" of photocatalysis, as it has the potential to deliver hydrogen as an inexpensive fuel and clean oxygen for industrial use. This project focuses on the catalytic oxidation of water to oxygen, an essential component of water-splitting that needs further development for this technology to be realised. Applying the principles used by nature in Photosystem II, the project seeks to develop manganese clusters that effectively catalyse this conversion, to attach the clusters to nanostructured oxide surfaces and to incorporate these assemblies into devices which generate oxygen.