Name of the speaker: Dr. Deepak Badgurjar
Date/time:7th May 2025,3:00 PM
Venue: SV Narasaiah Auditorium, IAP Department
Abstract: Achieving efficient solar-to-chemical energy conversion requires systems that integrate light absorption, charge separation, and catalytic activity at well-defined interfaces. In the first part of my talk, I will present the development of chromophore-catalyst assemblies that couple light-driven electron transfer with catalytic oxidation on semiconductor oxide surfaces. These donor-acceptor systems, immobilized on mesoporous core-shell metal oxide films, enable controlled charge separation under visible-light excitation and drive multi-electron oxidation reactions. Spectroscopic and photoelectrochemical studies highlight the role of molecular design in stabilizing charge-separated states and enabling sustained photocurrent generation under operational conditions. In the second part, I will introduce a non-covalent, electrode-orthogonal strategy for functionalizing electrified interfaces. Using electrostatic and van der Waals interactions, this method forms self-assembled layers with exceptional electrochemical stability across a 2.9 V window. These modifications are compatible with diverse electrode materials and enable tunable control over surface chemistry. In-situ Surface Enhanced Infrared Absorption Spectroscopy (SEIRAS) reveals that these layers replicate covalent analogs and provide a dynamic platform for studying interfacial processes such as the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Together, these studies establish new principles for integrating light harvesting, surface modification, and catalysis, with the broader goal of developing scalable photo-electrochemical systems for sustainable energy applications.
About the speaker:
Dr.Deepak is a Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of Chicago, where he developed a non-covalent self-assembly strategy to functionalize electrified interfaces and stabilized operando Surface Enhanced Infrared Absorption Spectroscopy (SEIRAS). This approach enables predictive, non-fouling control over catalytic surfaces, including oxygen reduction catalysts on polarized electrodes. Previously, as a postdoctoral researcher with Prof. Wayne Gladfelter and Prof. David Blank at the University of Minnesota, his work focused on developing materials for photon upconversion and singlet fission and on resolving ultrafast charge-transfer kinetics. Deepak earned his Ph.D. from the Central University of Rajasthan under Prof. Raghu Chitta, focusing on supramolecular donor–acceptor systems for artificial photosynthesis. He received the Bhaskara Advanced Solar Energy Fellowship and joined Prof. Tom Meyer’s lab at UNC–Chapel Hill, where he worked on chromophore–catalyst assemblies for solar fuel production. His vision is to develop photo- and electro-driven fuel generation systems by exploring fundamental questions at the interface of materials chemistry and energy science, bridging photo- and electrochemistry to create real-world energy solutions.
ALL ARE WELCOME.