Analysis of natural and synthetic systems for photo-initiated water splitting
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Authors
Mark, Brian
Issue Date
2021-05
Type
Electronic thesis
Thesis
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Chemical engineering
Alternative Title
Abstract
The search for new sustainable energy sources has seen a substantial increase inattention as our current reliance on fossil fuels reaches a critical point in terms of supply
and environmental impact. One promising avenue to sustainable energy is through the
electrolytic splitting of water using solar light as an energy source. The work for this thesis
focuses on exploring two different materials with the potential to perform and elucidate the
water splitting reaction: benzimidazole phenol-porphyrin (BiP-PF10) and manganese
oxides (MnOx). BiP-PF10 serves as a bio-mimic, modeling the oxygen-evolving complex
(OEC) of photosystem II (PSII) in plants and cyanobacteria and the proton-coupled
electron transfer (PCET) mechanism it uses for water splitting. Analysis of the PCET
intermediate of BiP-PF10 led to the determination of the electronic environment during
PCET, providing insight on further attempts to synthesize this reaction. Manganese is
present in many photocatalytic compounds, so a study on manganese oxides, especially
Mn2O3, would help us understand some of the mechanisms of water splitting. The results
of the manganese oxide experiments are preliminary and show promise in terms of future
analysis.
Description
May 2021
School of Engineering
School of Engineering
Full Citation
Publisher
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY