Semiconductors lie at the heart of modern technology. Their unique ability to capture and convert light energy enables applications such as solar cells, photocatalysts, and photodetectors. A wide range of emerging materials, including metal oxides, metal nitrides, and halide perovskites, offers diverse and tunable properties that can be tailored for specific energy and optoelectronic applications. 

Established in August 2021, the Jiang Research Group explores how light-generated charge carriers behave, interact, and evolve within these materials. Taking photoelectrocatalysis as an example (see illustration below), semiconducting photoelectrodes absorb photons to produce energetic charge carriers that drive redox reactions at the solid-liquid interface. Yet, much of this energy is often lost through carrier-lattice interactions and recombination.

To understand and mitigate these losses, we combine materials synthesis, electrochemistry, and spectroscopy in a multidisciplinary research approach. We grow high-quality semiconductor thin films with precisely controlled composition, crystallographic orientation, and defect concentration. Their photoelectrochemical performance is then evaluated to establish structure-function relationships. Using advanced spectroscopic tools, we directly probe the dynamics of photogenerated carriers and their interactions with the surrounding lattice and interfaces. 

By uncovering the fundamental mechanisms behind energy conversion and recombination losses, our goal is to guide the design of next-generation solar energy conversion devices that operate with greater efficiency and stability. 

Financial Support