Research Areas | Edri Lab

CO₂ Electroreduction

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Overview

Electrochemical reduction of CO₂ (CO₂RR) offers a pathway to close the carbon cycle: captured CO₂ can be converted into carbon-neutral fuels and chemical feedstocks using renewable electricity. Our group works across the full stack — from the atomic-scale design of electrocatalyst materials to the engineering of electrode architectures and reactor configurations — to understand and improve the selectivity, efficiency, and stability of CO₂ electroreduction systems.

Research Directions

Electrocatalyst materials. We synthesize and characterize thin-film and nanostructured catalysts for CO₂ reduction, with particular interest in understanding how crystal facets, surface composition, and defect density govern product selectivity. We use a combination of electrochemical methods, in-situ spectroscopy, and electron microscopy to connect atomic structure to catalytic performance.

Electrode and interface engineering. The interface between catalyst, electrolyte, and CO₂ supply is a critical bottleneck in CO₂RR. We design gas-diffusion electrode architectures and study how local pH, CO₂ concentration, and ion transport influence reaction pathways and product distribution.

Coupled CO₂ capture and conversion. We integrate CO₂ capture directly with electrochemical conversion to avoid the energy lost in separate capture-and-release cycles. This is the basis of our eCatMem concept — a dual-functional membrane that performs CO₂ capture and electrocatalytic reduction within a single membrane-electrode assembly (Sadhujan et al. ChemSusChem 2025, 18 (17), e202500474).

Why It Matters

CO₂ electroreduction offers a route to store renewable electricity in carbon-neutral fuels and chemicals, and to close the carbon cycle by turning captured CO₂ back into useful feedstocks. Our work targets the selectivity, efficiency, and durability gaps that stand between laboratory demonstrations and practical electrolyzers.

Photoelectrochemistry & Carbon Capture

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Overview

Capturing CO₂ — from flue gas or directly from air — is energy-intensive, and much of that energy goes into releasing the captured CO₂ to regenerate the sorbent. We ask whether sunlight can supply that energy directly. Our group develops photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells in which an illuminated semiconductor electrode drives the CO₂ capture-and-release cycle, using light rather than heat or grid power for the costly step — a route to solar-powered carbon capture built on emerging thin-film absorbers.

Research Directions

Photoelectrodes for light-driven CO₂ capture. We design semiconductor photoelectrodes — including halide-perovskite and silicon-based absorbers — that turn absorbed sunlight into the electrochemical driving force needed to bind CO₂ and release it on demand, so the capture cycle runs on photogenerated charge.

Interfaces and operating stability. Emerging absorbers, halide perovskites especially, are sensitive to the aqueous, reactive environment of a capture cell. We study the semiconductor–electrolyte interface and develop protective layers and surface treatments that keep the photoelectrode working across many capture-and-release cycles.

Energetics of solar-powered capture. We measure how efficiently absorbed photons translate into captured CO₂, identifying the loss pathways that set the energy cost of capture and guiding photoelectrode design.

Broader Context

Carbon capture is widely seen as necessary to meet climate targets, but its energy demand is a central obstacle. Powering the capture step with sunlight — rather than fossil-derived heat or grid electricity — could cut that penalty and pair naturally with an intermittent renewable supply. Our work sits between semiconductor device physics and separation science, aiming to turn emerging photovoltaic materials into practical engines for solar-driven carbon capture.

PV & Self-Healing Semiconductors

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Overview

A central challenge in thin-film photovoltaics is that defects — formed during deposition or introduced by illumination, heat, and moisture — degrade device performance over time. We study a class of low-dimensional (quasi-1D and quasi-2D) semiconductor materials that exhibit unusual tolerance to defects and, in some cases, the ability to spontaneously heal structural and electronic damage. Understanding and harnessing this self-healing behavior is the core question driving this research thread.

Research Directions

Quasi-1D semiconductors for SWIR solar cells. Materials with one-dimensional crystal structures exhibit anisotropic transport and unique defect physics. We grow and characterize quasi-1D chalcogenide and halide semiconductors whose bandgaps are well-matched to the short-wave infrared (SWIR) portion of the solar spectrum — a spectral window largely untapped by current photovoltaic technologies.

Defect chemistry and self-healing mechanisms. We investigate the atomic origins of self-healing: which defect types are mobile, what drives their annihilation, and how processing conditions (temperature, atmosphere, illumination) modulate defect populations. Techniques include temperature-dependent electrical measurements, photoluminescence, and first-principles-guided defect modeling.

Thin-film device integration. We translate materials insights into working solar cell devices, studying how interfaces between absorber, transport layers, and contacts determine open-circuit voltage losses and long-term stability.

Why It Matters

Extending photovoltaic absorption into the SWIR enables tandem and multi-junction cell architectures with efficiencies beyond the single-junction Shockley–Queisser limit. Self-healing absorbers could simultaneously reduce degradation rates, addressing the two largest remaining barriers to terawatt-scale solar deployment.