The sunlight is an ideal natural source of energy. However, due to the periodic variability in the solar flux during the different seasons and even during the daily time, the development of new technologies for storing the solar energy in the form of chemical fuels (e.g. hydrogen gas) that can be used upon demand is very crucial. Without that, it is difficult to establish a reliable energy system that is based mainly on solar. Currently, research in the Kandiel group is focused on developing photo(electro)catalytic materials for solar energy conversion and storage in the form of hydrogen gas using photoelectrochemical cell and photocatalytic approaches.
Hydrogen gas can be made from solar energy by splitting water into its main components in the presence of an appropriate photo(electro)catalyst but the overall efficiency is still low. As an intermediate step, until the dream of the efficient water splitting is reached, abundant biomass-derived compounds, non-recyclable wastes, and industrial by-products are under investigation as sacrificial reagents for solar hydrogen production. For instance, sulfur exists in a significant amount in crude-oil (up to 5.0 wt.%). Instead of converting H2S gas into metallic sulfur via the Claus process, it can be utilized as electron donors for photocatalytic hydrogen production.
Besides, the research in the Kandiel group is also focused on developing photocatalytically highly active coatings for the removal of air pollutants (namely NOx, SO2, and volatile hydrocarbons). NOx, SO2, and volatile hydrocarbons emitted from vehicle exhausts and/or industrial plants cause serious health problems. Environmental photocatalysts act as a sensitizer for light-induced redox processes to abate the concentration of air pollutants via the utilization of solar energy.
In addition to the aforesaid applications, the Kandiel group has a great interest in exploring the mechanisms of photo(electro)catalytic reactions and studying the dynamics of photoinduced processes in different photocatalytic materials using various spectroscopic techniques, namely intensity-modulated photocurrent spectroscopy (IMPS) and photoelectrochemical impedance spectroscopy (PEIS), to develop rationally designed, low-cost, and highly efficient photo(electro)catalysts.
