Laerte Patera from the Department of Physical Chemistry was recently awarded funding from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). As part of the consortium "Pushing Oxide Catalysis: Atomic-Scale View at Photocharges", Patera's research group aims to investigate photocatalytic processes using state-of-the-art atomic force microscopy.
The funding is part of the FWF's "Research Groups" programme, which aims to promote multi- and interdisciplinary approaches. With the funded project "Pushing Oxide Catalysis: Atomic-Scale View at Photocharges", in which Patera is involved, the consortium aims to understand in real time and at the atomic level how light-generated charges are are formed, move around, become trapped, and ultimately drive reactions in transition-metal oxides used for solar-driven fuel production.
The funding from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) totalling 1.52 million euros will be divided between the consortium, which consists of three research groups:
- a team led by Giada Franceschi from TU Wien is investigating the precise growth of customised oxide thin films with specifically incorporated defects and dopants
- the group led by Laerte Patera from the University of Innsbruck is working on the development of highly sensitive atomic force microscopy methods for the direct observation of these light charges on surfaces
- Michele Reticcioli from TU Wien and his team are developing advanced machine learning simulations that model excited states and polaron dynamics in the materials.
The combination of these approaches will be used to pinpoint which atomic-scale features help or hinder charge separation and transport, and to enable experimental and computational workflows for next-generation oxide photocatalysts. Laerte Patera and his team have the task of pushing atomic force microscopy into a regime where it can map the spatial distribution and time evolution of photoinduced charges on oxide surfaces.
