Bunsen Discussion Meeting invited speakers
Introduction:
Prof. John T. Yates, Jr. (Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA) is one of the leading surface scientists and is active in the field of TiO2-based catalysis. He has published many important papers on this subject, including a recent review in “Topics in Catalysis“ (35, 197, 2005).
Surface Science of TiO2:
Prof. Ulrike Diebold is a Deputy Head of the Institute for Applied Physics at the Technical University of Vienna. She works on the properties of TiO2 and the mechanism of TiO2-based photocatalysis. In particular, Prof. Diebold investigated the geometric and electronic structure of TiO2 surfaces and adsorption onto these substrates. Recently, Prof. Diebold has published an important review on the above subjects in “Surf. Sci. Rep.“ (48, 53, 2003).
Photocatalysis:
Prof. Markus Antonietti is a head of the Colloid Chemistry Department at the Max Planck Institute for Colloid and Interface Research in Potsdam-Golm. He published many articles related to a wide spectrum of subjects, ranging from Polymer and Colloid Science to Material Chemistry, Nanoscience, and Physical Chemistry. In 2008 he founded a joint laboratory with Fuzhou University (Prof. X. Fu) in the field of photocatalysis. In his recent paper in Nature Materials he and his co-authors described the use of polymer carbon nitride for the photocatalytic production of hydrogen.
Prof. Horst Kisch is a head of a photocatalysis group at the Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy of the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg. One part of his research is concerned with novel titania based hybrid photocatalysts for photo-oxidation reactions by visible light. In some of these materials titania can be considered as a ligand in a heterogeneous transition metal complex. The other part deals with the use of zinc and cadmium sulfides for the catalysis of hitherto unknown linear photoaddition reactions of olefins to 1,2-diazenes and imines.
Catalytic Reactions:
Detlef Bahnemann is a Professor at the Chemistry Department of the University of Hannover. His research is related to the solar-catalytic cleaning of water. The goals are to achieve a better understanding of the reaction mechanism, elucidate the physico-chemical origins of photocatalysis, and the development of new photocatalysts. A further important aspect of his work is the transfer of photocatalysis from laboratory experiments to prototypes and industrial processes.
Michael Grätzel is a Professor at the Ecole Polytechnique de Lausanne, where he directs the Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces. He pioneered research on energy and electron transfer reactions in mesoscopic-materials and their application in solar energy conversion systems, optoelectronic devices and lithium ion batteries. He discovered a new type of solar cell based on dye sensitized nanocrystalline semiconductor oxide particles. He has received a variety of prestigious awards and is amongst the most highly cited chemists worldwide.
Prashant V. Kamat is Professor at the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Notre Dame. His major research field is the transformation of light to other forms of energy. During the last twenty years, he has provided valuable contributions to the understanding of photocatalysis with semiconductors. His current interests include nano-structured hybrid materials for the next generation of solar cells. For this purpose, he has studied the relevant energy and electron transfer processes. Prashant Kamat is editor of the Journal of Physical Chemistry and served in many international panels.
