The Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology (WIN) is pleased to present a Distinguished Lecture by Peidong Yang, a distinguished professor in the Department of Chemistry at University of California, Berkeley.
Nanowire
(Bio)photoelectrochemistry
Abstract
Wires
of
different
forms
are
an
integral
part
of
our
human
society
for
centuries.
Electricity
is
being
delivered
through
powerlines
to
every
household;
information
is
routinely
transmitted
through
optical
fibers
and
bridge-building
requires
the
use
of
mechanically
robust
cables.
In
the
past
25
years,
scientists
have
fundamentally
discovered
a
new
process
of
making
nanoscopic
wires,
1000
times
thinner
than
human
hairs,
enabled
new
generation
of
computing,
integrated
photonics,
and
energy
and
biomedical
technologies.
Semiconductor
nanowire,
a
new
form
of
semiconductor,
by
definition,
typically
has
cross-sectional
dimension
that
can
be
tuned
from
1–100
nm,
with
length
spanning
from
hundreds
of
nanometers
to
millimeters.
These
subwavelength
structures
represent
a
new
class
of
semiconductor
materials
for
investigating
light
generation,
propagation,
detection,
amplification,
modulation
as
well
as
energy
conversion
and
storage.
After
more
than
two
decade
of
research,
semiconductor
nanowires
with
predictable
and
controlled
electrical
properties
can
be
synthesized[J.
Am.
Chem.
Soc.
2001,
123,
3165],
thus
providing
optoelectronically-tunable nanoscale
building
blocks
for
device
assembly
for
the
first
time,
including
nanoscopic
lasers
[Science,
2001,
292,
1897;
Science,
2004,305,
1269],
solar
cells
[Nature
Materials,
2005,
4,
455],
nanofluidic
transistors
[Phys.
Rev.
Lett.,
2005,
95,086607],
intracellular
optical
and
electrical
probes
[J.
Am.
Chem.
Soc.
2007,
129,
7228;
Nature,
2007,
447,
1098;
Nature
Nanotech.,
2012,
7,
191],
thermoelectrics
[Nature,
2008,
451,
163]
and
(bio)photochemical
diodes
[Nano
Letters
2015,
15,
3634;
Science,
2016,
351,
74].
Nanowire
represents
an
important
class
of
nanostructure
building
blocks
for
photovoltaics
as
well
as
direct
solar-to-fuel
conversion
because
of
their
high
surface
area,
tunable
bandgap,
and
efficient
charge
transport
and
collection.
In
this
talk,
I
will
present
a
brief
history
of
nanowire
research
for
the
past
25
years
and
highlight
the
synthesis
of
nanowires
using
well-defined
chemistry.
These
semiconductor
nanowires,
with
their
unique
photoelectrochemistry,
are
then
used
for
artificial
photosynthesis
based
on
(bio)photochemical
diode
system
design,
where
solar
energy
is
converted
and
stored
in
chemical
bonds
in
a
solar
driven
CO2
fixation
process.
Biography
Peidong
Yang
is
a
Chemistry
professor,
S.
K.
and
Angela
Chan
Distinguished
Chair
Professor
in
Energy
at
the
University
of
California,
Berkeley.
He
is
a
senior
faculty
scientist
at
Materials
and
Chemical
Sciences
Division,
Lawrence
Berkeley
National
Laboratory.
He
is
a
member
of
both
the
National
Academy
of
Sciences
and
the
American
Academy
of
Arts
and
Sciences.
Prof.
Yang
is
known
particularly
for
his
work
on
semiconductor
nanowires
and
their
photonic
and
energy
applications
including
artificial
photosynthesis.
He
is
the
director
for
California
Research
Alliance
by
BASF
and
the
Kavli
Energy
Nanoscience
Institute
at
Berkeley.
He
is
an
Executive
Editor
for
Journal
of
the
American
Chemical
Society.
Dr.
Yang
received
his
B.A.
in
Chemistry
from
the
University
of
Science
and
Technology
in
China
in
1993.
He
then
received
his
Ph.D.
in
Chemistry
from
Harvard
University
in
1997,
and
did
his
postdoctoral
fellowship
at
the
University
of
California,
Santa
Barbara.
Soon
after,
he
joined
the
faculty
at
the
University
of
California,
Berkeley.
He
is
the
recipient
of
Global
Energy
Prize,
MacArthur
Fellowship,
E.
O.
Lawrence
Award,
ACS
Nanoscience
Award,
MRS
Medal,
Baekeland
Medal,
Alfred
P.
Sloan
research
fellowship,
the
Arnold
and
Mabel
Beckman
Young
Investigator
Award,
National
Science
Foundation
Young
Investigator
Award,
MRS
Young
Investigator
Award,
Julius
Springer
Prize
for
Applied
Physics,
ACS
Pure
Chemistry
Award,
and
Alan
T.
Waterman
Award.
He
is
the
2014
Thomas
Reuters
Citation
Laureate
for
Physics.
Virtual event link: https://uwaterloo.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_7C4eepXtTdC4ugWFKfXqqw