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A team of scientists from the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of California Irvine, and Fort Lewis College has developed a technique that could make light-powered chemical reactions more than 40 times more efficient than current methods.

The team found a way to slow the energy leaks that often waste light energy before it can be used. Their new method uses a special molecule that acts like a “molecular dam,” keeping the energy in place long enough to power chemical reactions. The findings were published Oct. 12 in the scientific journal Chem. 

The team was led by CU Boulder’s Gordana Dukovic, Ph.D., professor and a fellow in the Renewable And Sustainable Energy Institute (RASEI). At FLC, the team included Kenny Miller, Ph.D., professor of Chemistry at FLC; Izzy Lamb, Ph.D., assistant professor of Chemistry at FLC; and student Nathaniel Prugh, who was cited among the paper’s authors. In addition, several other 麻豆免费高清无砖码区students were involved and continue working on different aspects of the project.

Harnessing the power of light

Many of the materials and products we use every day—like plastics, fertilizers, and medicines—are made using high heat and pressure. Those processes often rely on fossil fuels, which release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and are energy intensive. Scientists have long looked for a cleaner option: using light to power chemical reactions instead.

This process, called photocatalysis, uses special materials that absorb light and turn it into energy that can power chemical reactions. Tiny particles called nanocrystals are especially good at this, but they have a major flaw: they lose their energy almost instantly after absorbing light. 

Taking advantage of the different areas of expertise of each team, researchers generated ideas and quickly executed them. 

Fort Lewis College chemistry students, under the direction of Miller and Lamb, created a molecule in the lab. They designed it to stick tightly to the surface of nanocrystals and separate positive and negative charges created by light.

When light hits the nanocrystal, one part of the molecule grabs the positive charge while the other holds the negative charge in place. This keeps the energy from disappearing too fast. The molecule extends the energy’s lifetime from billionths of a second to millionths—a huge improvement in the world of chemistry.

A bright future for clean chemistry

By keeping energy around longer, this discovery could make light-driven chemistry more practical and efficient. It opens the door for cleaner ways to make important materials—possibly one day using sunlight instead of heat and fossil fuels.

The project highlights how undergraduate students at Fort Lewis College contribute to big scientific discoveries.

“Undergraduate research like this is a perfect way for students to learn chemistry in a hands-on way while simultaneously creating fundamental knowledge that could lead to massive innovations in green fuel production,” Miller said.

The study, “” was published in Chem. This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, as part of the Energy Frontier Research Center: Ensembles of Photosynthetic Nanoreactors (EPN; DE-SC0023431), with additional experiments on nanorods supported by Air Force Office of Scientific Research under AFOSR (FA9550-22-1-0347).

Adapted 麻豆免费高清无砖码区 from the original ”, published by Daniel Morton from RASEI.