Dukovic /rasei/ en Atomic Musical Chairs: How Tiny Nanocrystals Are Informing the Future of Energy-Efficient Electronics /rasei/2026/03/17/atomic-musical-chairs-how-tiny-nanocrystals-are-informing-future-energy-efficient <span>Atomic Musical Chairs: How Tiny Nanocrystals Are Informing the Future of Energy-Efficient Electronics</span> <span><span>Daniel Morton</span></span> <span><time datetime="2026-03-17T13:43:33-06:00" title="Tuesday, March 17, 2026 - 13:43">Tue, 03/17/2026 - 13:43</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/rasei/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/2026-03/cover_art_260217_thumbnail-01.jpg?h=9eb0d413&amp;itok=HDDNMoKT" width="1200" height="800" alt="Illustration of laser being shone on a crystal"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/177"> News </a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/170"> Publication Highlight </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/160" hreflang="en">Dukovic</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/269" hreflang="en">Energy Applications</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/304" hreflang="en">IMOD</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/274" hreflang="en">Nanoscience and Advanced Materials</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/418" hreflang="en">STROBE</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/290" hreflang="en">Semiconductors</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/114" hreflang="en">Yazdi</a> </div> <a href="/rasei/our-community">Daniel Morton</a> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><div class="ucb-box ucb-box-title-left ucb-box-alignment-right ucb-box-style-fill ucb-box-theme-lightgray"><div class="ucb-box-inner"><div class="ucb-box-title">Find out more</div><div class="ucb-box-content"><p><a class="ucb-link-button ucb-link-button-blue ucb-link-button-full ucb-link-button-large" href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.5c15614" rel="nofollow"><span class="ucb-link-button-contents">Check out the article</span></a></p></div></div></div><p>While most people, when asked about energy innovation, think about some of the "large" technologies, such as wind turbines, long transmission lines, or massive power plants, some of the most important advances in how we use energy are happening at a scale so small that millions of the "machines" involved could fit on the head of a pin.</p><p>New research from a team led by RASEI Fellow Gordana Dukovic, working in collaboration with RASEI Fellow Sadegh Yazdi and Prof. Dmitri Talapin from the University of Chicago, reveals new insights on a high-speed game of "atomic musical chairs." This collaboration involved two large teams working together. Researchers from two United States National Science Foundation Science and Technology Centers (STCs) including IMOD and STROBE, employed cutting-edge microscopy techniques to directly visualize, for the first time at this scale, how atoms swap places inside tiny semiconductor nanocrystals, which is a crucial step toward understanding the composition, and ultimately the properties, of these materials.</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><div class="ucb-box ucb-box-title-left ucb-box-alignment-right ucb-box-style-fill ucb-box-theme-lightgray"><div class="ucb-box-inner"><div class="ucb-box-title">Find out more about STCs</div><div class="ucb-box-content"><p><a class="ucb-link-button ucb-link-button-blue ucb-link-button-full ucb-link-button-large" href="https://www.nsf.gov/od/oia/ia/stc" rel="nofollow"><span class="ucb-link-button-contents">NSF STCc</span></a></p><p><a class="ucb-link-button ucb-link-button-blue ucb-link-button-full ucb-link-button-large" href="https://strobe.colorado.edu/" rel="nofollow"><span class="ucb-link-button-contents">STROBE STC</span></a></p><p><a class="ucb-link-button ucb-link-button-blue ucb-link-button-full ucb-link-button-large" href="https://imod-stc.org/" rel="nofollow"><span class="ucb-link-button-contents">IMOD STC</span></a></p></div></div></div><p>Science and Technology Centers are hubs for collaboration, bringing together multidisciplinary researchers from across the United States to solve large, challenging and complex problems. This article describes a space where two of these large networks worked together. STROBE, or <a href="https://strobe.colorado.edu/" rel="nofollow">Science and Technology Center on Real-Time Functional Imaging</a> pushes the boundaries of microscopy to observe and understand materials at the atomic and nano-scales. IMOD, or <a href="https://imod-stc.org/" rel="nofollow">The Center for Integration of Modern Optoelectronic Materials on Demand</a>, focuses on making atomically precise semiconductors and integrating them into applications in VR displays, and devices for quantum communication and computing. This team leverages the expertise from both Centers to create new semiconductors and using cutting-edge microscopes to observe and understand them.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><p>Almost all of our electronic devices are built from semiconductors. Whether it is the screen on your smartphone, the components in your car, or the microchips in your computer, these electronics rely on semiconductors. Traditionally, these materials are "grown" through rigid and often expensive processes. Tuning the properties of a semiconductor using this approach is not straightforward. If you want a specific color of light for a display, or a specific energy absorption profile for a solar panel, you often have to start from scratch with an entirely different material.</p><p>This is where semiconductor nanocrystals offer remarkable opportunities. The specific size, shape, and composition of these tiny nanocrystals determine the physical and electronic properties of the overall material. A particularly powerful process with such nanocrystals is called cation exchange. Instead of building a new crystal from scratch, you can take an existing one and swap out its internal atomic components to change its properties.</p><p>“This is a project that we have been working on for a long time” explains Ben Hammel, a graduate student in the Dukovic Group, and lead author on this research. “We have been looking at these materials from the Talapin Group for a long time”.&nbsp;</p><p>This work, just published in ACS Nano, focuses on what are called III–V nanocrystals, which are tiny, four-sided pyramids, or tetrahedrons, named for the groups of the periodic table their constituent elements come from (Group III includes elements like Indium, Gallium, and Aluminum; Group V includes Phosphorus, Arsenic, and Antimony). In this research, the nanocrystals are made of a mixture of Indium, Phosphorus, and Arsenic. To exert more control over the properties of these nanocrystals, the researchers introduced Gallium. Adding Gallium is like tuning a guitar string: it changes the energy of the crystal, influencing how it interacts with light.</p><p>“A lot of people have developed ways to make III-V bulk semiconductors, but the real challenge is making them into nanocrystals, where you have more control over their properties, and the Talapin Group have developed a really neat molten salt process to do this” explains Hammel. The molten salt work was <a href="https://imod-stc.org/2024/10/25/imod-researchers-unlock-a-new-synthetic-frontier-for-quantum-dots/" rel="nofollow">published in Science in 2024</a>.&nbsp;</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><p>Imagine the inside of one of these tiny crystals as a perfectly ordered lattice of "seats." There are two types of players: Anions (the Phosphorus and Arsenic atoms) and Cations (the Indium atoms). A key observation from the team was that the "house" never moves. The Anions are like the floor and the chairs, they stay perfectly still, maintaining the overall crystal framework. The Cations, on the other hand, are the players sitting in those chairs.</p><p>In this work, the nanocrystals were placed into a "hot bath" of molten Gallium salts, essentially starting the music on the game of atomic musical chairs. Previous work had shown that the atoms exchange, but there was not a lot of evidence for how this process worked. “Understanding how this works is very important, and finding out more about the local elemental composition, and how the Gallium atoms move can inform how we design these systems in the future” explains Hammel.&nbsp;</p><p>These nanocrystals are only 5 to 10 nanometers wide. A typical human hair is between 80,000 and 100,000 nanometers wide. These crystals are called "nano" for a reason! To observe this game of atomic musical chairs in action, the team used Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM), an instrument that uses a focused beam of electrons to probe and image matter at the atomic scale. “Early on there were some signs that there was heterogeneity within the particles, but it was unclear, a big technical challenge we had to overcome was how we can actually measure the Gallium moving through the nanocrystal” said Hammel.&nbsp;</p><p>A key challenge they had to figure out was the sensitivity of the nanocrystals to the very tool being used to study them. The electron beam of the STEM, if used at high intensity, can damage the nanocrystals before a useful image can even be collected. To solve this, the team developed an innovative "statistical" imaging approach. Rather than blasting a single crystal with a high dose of electrons to get a sharp image, the researchers instead took many low-dose, and individually blurry, snapshots of hundreds of different crystals at different stages of the molten salt reaction. “We essentially stacked the data on top of each other” describes Hammel, “If I can add together 10 nanocrystals, I can get 10 times the signal”. Adding these kinds of signals together hadn’t been done before with semiconductor nanocrystals. “A lot of this came together from teamwork, I got a lot of really great suggestions from collaborators on how to collect and analyze this information. I used a suite of open source Python tools, which I was a little lost with until I met the researcher who developed them at a conference (<a href="https://www.joshuataillon.com/" rel="nofollow">Josh Taillon</a> from NIST), who gave me some great suggestions and ideas” said Hammel. Using these advanced computer algorithms, they aligned and stacked hundreds of images on top of each other. Much like a long-exposure photograph of the night sky reveals stars the naked eye cannot see, this averaged stacked image revealed a detailed map of where the Gallium atoms were moving inside the nanocrystals. To the team’s knowledge, this signal-averaging approach for elemental mapping has not previously been applied to semiconductor nanocrystals.</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><p>The Gallium atoms rush in to claim “seats”, but not randomly. Gallium grabs the seats near the surface first. Because of the high surface-to-volume ratio of these tiny particles, this surface exchange causes a dramatic and rapid change in overall composition: within the first 15 minutes in the molten salt bath, the outside of the nanocrystals is substantially transformed. However, as the game goes on, it gets progressively harder. The Indium atoms sitting in the seats at the center of the nanocrystal are crowded in, and for a Gallium atom to reach the core, an Indium atom must fight its way out through an increasingly Gallium-rich lattice. This sets up a compositional gradient, essentially a smooth transition from a Gallium-rich exterior to an Indium-rich core, that persists even after 16 hours of reaction.</p><p>This new methodology, combining STEM with advanced computational image processing, is sensitive enough to detect and map the movement of atoms through individual nanocrystals. Applying it here directly revealed that the cation exchange process (Indium being replaced by Gallium) creates a graded composition rather than a simple sharp boundary between materials. The team also used computer simulations (finite element analysis in COMSOL) to model this exchange as a diffusion-limited process, finding that the rate of exchange slows dramatically as more Gallium enters the lattice, likely because the smaller Gallium atoms cause the lattice to contract, making it progressively harder for further exchange to occur.</p><p>Importantly, the methods developed in this work are broadly applicable and could be used to determine the elemental composition of many other types of nanocrystals that have previously been difficult to study due to their sensitivity to electron beams.</p><p>The ability to observe and better understand the cation exchange process in these semiconductor nanocrystals has significant implications for the development of next-generation materials. It has been suggested that graded compositions, like those observed here, could help suppress certain energy-loss processes in semiconductor devices, potentially enabling more efficient lighting and lower-power electronics. Whether these specific nanocrystals deliver on that promise remains an open and exciting research question, but this work provides the observational foundation needed to begin answering it. Additionally, the molten-salt synthesis approach that underpins this research is an active area of development as a potentially more versatile route to III–V semiconductor nanocrystals, materials that have historically been among the most challenging to synthesize with fine compositional control.</p><p>By developing new tools to better observe the game of "atomic musical chairs," the researchers are providing the field with insights into how to engineer materials at the atomic scale and revealing that the path from one material to another is more nuanced, and more interesting, than previously understood.</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>March 2026</div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Off</div> </div> </h2> <div>Zebra Striped</div> <div>0</div> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/rasei/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2026-03/cover_art_260217_banner-01.jpg?itok=hpoT1gSK" width="1500" height="328" alt="Illustration of laser beams shining on a crystal"> </div> </div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Tue, 17 Mar 2026 19:43:33 +0000 Daniel Morton 1548 at /rasei 2026 Three Minute Thesis Finalists /rasei/2026/02/24/2026-three-minute-thesis-finalists <span>2026 Three Minute Thesis Finalists</span> <span><span>Daniel Morton</span></span> <span><time datetime="2026-02-24T13:57:33-07:00" title="Tuesday, February 24, 2026 - 13:57">Tue, 02/24/2026 - 13:57</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/rasei/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/2026-02/2026_02_3MT_Thumbnail.jpg?h=06ac0d8c&amp;itok=jTMbWlm7" width="1200" height="800" alt="Ben Hammel on stage during the 3MT competition"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/177"> News </a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/23"> Profile </a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/279"> Recognition </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/160" hreflang="en">Dukovic</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/274" hreflang="en">Nanoscience and Advanced Materials</a> </div> <a href="/rasei/our-community">Daniel Morton</a> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-large"><div class="ucb-callout-content"><div class="ucb-box ucb-box-title-left ucb-box-alignment-none ucb-box-style-fill ucb-box-theme-lightgray"><div class="ucb-box-inner"><div class="ucb-box-title">Find out more</div><div class="ucb-box-content"><p><a class="ucb-link-button ucb-link-button-blue ucb-link-button-full ucb-link-button-large" href="/graduateschool/services-resources/professional-development/three-minute-thesis" rel="nofollow"><span class="ucb-link-button-contents">91ý 3MT Competition</span></a></p><p><a class="ucb-link-button ucb-link-button-blue ucb-link-button-full ucb-link-button-large" href="/graduateschool/2026/01/29/announcing-2026-three-minute-thesis-winners" rel="nofollow"><span class="ucb-link-button-contents">2026 3MT Announcement</span></a></p><p><a class="ucb-link-button ucb-link-button-blue ucb-link-button-full ucb-link-button-large" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFwqRuZVJlM" rel="nofollow"><span class="ucb-link-button-contents">Recording of 2026 3MT Final</span></a></p><p><a class="ucb-link-button ucb-link-button-blue ucb-link-button-full ucb-link-button-large" href="/graduateschool/2026/01/16/meet-3mt-finalist-ben-hammel" rel="nofollow"><span class="ucb-link-button-contents">Meet 3MT Finalist Ben Hammel</span></a></p><p>&nbsp;</p></div></div></div><p>&nbsp;</p></div></div><p class="lead"><em>Ben Hammel, a graduate student in the Dukovic Group, was a finalist in the 2026 91ý Three Minute Thesis Competition. We caught up with Ben to find out more about the whole 3MT process.&nbsp;</em></p><p>&nbsp;</p><h4><strong>What is 3MT?</strong></h4><p>3MT stands for Three-Minute Thesis, which was a competition started at the University of Queensland. I think the history behind it is that they were going through droughts in Australia and everyone had these three-minute egg timers in their showers to limit water usage. Someone had this idea of maybe this was a good challenge for condensing/communicating your research: how well can you present your thesis in three minutes?</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h4><strong>What did you have to do?</strong></h4><p>I came into this wanting to learn how to clearly describe my research. The rubric is really about explaining your science. They look at clarity, your enthusiasm, and about the slide and presentation. But they also look at can you describe the motivation of your research? Can you describe the design of your research? Can you describe the conclusions and societal impact of your work? So it is about science communication, with a strong grounding in the scientific aspects. Going through this process and thinking through these things has given me a better understanding of my own science.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h4><strong>Can you describe your research in five words?</strong></h4><p>Using microscope to look at nanocrystals. Six, that is ok, right?</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h4><strong>What drew you to do the 3MT?</strong></h4><p>I wanted to improve my scientific communication skills, and I felt like there was something really cool about my research that I wanted to share. It is this simple idea that we need to look at nanocrystals to understand how they work. I get to use this amazing microscope to do just that!</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h4><strong>What was the best part of the 3MT program?</strong></h4><p>The best part was definitely the cohort of talks. In the final competition folks got to see eleven presentations from across the graduate school, and that was awesome, but in the preliminary round there were more than 25. There were so many great talks from so many parts of the school that I got to see. It was really fun. You get to see in an hour so much condensed scientific knowledge. That was definitely the best part.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h4><strong>What was the worst/hardest part of the 3MT program?</strong></h4><p>The hardest part was talking about the science. It is so easy for me to say “we study these nanocrystals, and they’re cool, and I use this microscope”, but when people really ask me about what are the scientific questions you have and what are the experiments you run to answer them? And how are you going to engineer nanocrystals? It’s difficult to answer these kinds of technical questions in an accessible way.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h4><strong>How do you think your experience in 3MT will help you in the future?</strong></h4><p>Oh, it’s already helping me! Just in the way I talk to people and explain things. I feel like it has made me intellectually stronger and I am already noticing that it helps me communicate more clearly and think about my research in different ways.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h4><strong>What would you say to a grad student considering doing 3MT in the future?</strong></h4><p>Strongly recommend. It will take up a decent amount of your time, but it is definitely worth it. Don’t be afraid to tackle hard scientific concepts! One thing I regret not doing more of is really trying hard to tackle quantum mechanics in my talk. The properties of quantum dots are derived from quantum mechanics and I was scared to try to explain that, and I made my explanation totally classical. I was describing electricity flowing through crystals, but I think that people were hungry to learn more about the deeper science, and I should have given it a shot, at least to practice it and see if I could do it.&nbsp;</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>February 2026</div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Off</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/rasei/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2026-02/2026_02_3MT_Hero.jpg?itok=9l-TWSuC" width="1500" height="329" alt="Pictures of Ben Hammel on stage during the 2026 3MT finals"> </div> </div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Tue, 24 Feb 2026 20:57:33 +0000 Daniel Morton 1524 at /rasei Structural and Compositional Evolution of Colloidal In1–xGaxP1–yAsy Nanocrystals during Cation Exchange Revealed by Electron Microscopy /rasei/2026/02/13/structural-and-compositional-evolution-colloidal-in1-xgaxp1-yasy-nanocrystals-during <span>Structural and Compositional Evolution of Colloidal In1–xGaxP1–yAsy Nanocrystals during Cation Exchange Revealed by Electron Microscopy</span> <span><span>Daniel Morton</span></span> <span><time datetime="2026-02-13T11:11:18-07:00" title="Friday, February 13, 2026 - 11:11">Fri, 02/13/2026 - 11:11</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/rasei/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/2026-03/2026_02_13_ACSNano.png?h=6377f7ce&amp;itok=LA5FzQKD" width="1200" height="800" alt="TOC graphic"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/43"> Publication </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/160" hreflang="en">Dukovic</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/269" hreflang="en">Energy Applications</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/274" hreflang="en">Nanoscience and Advanced Materials</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/290" hreflang="en">Semiconductors</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/114" hreflang="en">Yazdi</a> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>ACS NANO, 2026, 20, 7, 5506-5517</div> <script> window.location.href = `https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.5c15614`; </script> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Off</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Fri, 13 Feb 2026 18:11:18 +0000 Daniel Morton 1541 at /rasei Influence of Ligand Exchange on Single Particle Properties of Cesium Lead Bromide Quantum Dots /rasei/2026/01/20/influence-ligand-exchange-single-particle-properties-cesium-lead-bromide-quantum-dots <span>Influence of Ligand Exchange on Single Particle Properties of Cesium Lead Bromide Quantum Dots</span> <span><span>Daniel Morton</span></span> <span><time datetime="2026-01-20T14:16:48-07:00" title="Tuesday, January 20, 2026 - 14:16">Tue, 01/20/2026 - 14:16</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/rasei/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/2026-01/2026_01_20_ChemMat.png?h=6377f7ce&amp;itok=Q-mYNcCW" width="1200" height="800" alt="TOC Graphic"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/43"> Publication </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/160" hreflang="en">Dukovic</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/269" hreflang="en">Energy Applications</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/304" hreflang="en">IMOD</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/50" hreflang="en">Marder</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/274" hreflang="en">Nanoscience and Advanced Materials</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/290" hreflang="en">Semiconductors</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/111" hreflang="en">Toney</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/114" hreflang="en">Yazdi</a> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS, 2026, 38, 3, 1074-1083</div> <script> window.location.href = `https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemmater.5c02233`; </script> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Off</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Tue, 20 Jan 2026 21:16:48 +0000 Daniel Morton 1501 at /rasei New ‘Molecular Dam’ Stops Energy Leaks in Nanocrystals /rasei/2025/10/21/new-molecular-dam-stops-energy-leaks-nanocrystals <span>New ‘Molecular Dam’ Stops Energy Leaks in Nanocrystals </span> <span><span>Daniel Morton</span></span> <span><time datetime="2025-10-21T13:17:19-06:00" title="Tuesday, October 21, 2025 - 13:17">Tue, 10/21/2025 - 13:17</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/rasei/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/2025-10/2025_09_ChargeSeparationThumbnail.jpg?h=4362216e&amp;itok=vDukBiSr" width="1200" height="800" alt="Illustration showing the charge separation event"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/177"> News </a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/170"> Publication Highlight </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/281" hreflang="en">Catalysis</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/160" hreflang="en">Dukovic</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/315" hreflang="en">EPN</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/269" hreflang="en">Energy Applications</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/385" hreflang="en">RoundupPhotocatalysis</a> </div> <a href="/rasei/our-community">Daniel Morton</a> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-large"><div class="ucb-callout-content"><div class="ucb-box ucb-box-title-left ucb-box-alignment-none ucb-box-style-fill ucb-box-theme-lightgray"><div class="ucb-box-inner"><div class="ucb-box-title">Find out more</div><div class="ucb-box-content"><p><a class="ucb-link-button ucb-link-button-blue ucb-link-button-large ucb-link-button-full" href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chempr.2025.102760" rel="nofollow"><span class="ucb-link-button-contents">Read the article</span></a></p><p><a class="ucb-link-button ucb-link-button-blue ucb-link-button-large ucb-link-button-full" href="https://phys.org/news/2025-10-molecular-energy-leaks-nanocrystals-boost.html" rel="nofollow"><span class="ucb-link-button-contents">Phys.org Highlight</span></a></p><p><a class="ucb-link-button ucb-link-button-blue ucb-link-button-large ucb-link-button-full" href="https://www.geneonline.com/researchers-develop-molecular-dam-to-improve-energy-retention-in-photocatalytic-nanocrystals/" rel="nofollow"><span class="ucb-link-button-contents">GeneOnline Highlight</span></a></p><p><a class="ucb-link-button ucb-link-button-blue ucb-link-button-large ucb-link-button-full" href="https://bioengineer.org/innovative-molecular-dam-prevents-energy-loss-in-nanocrystals/" rel="nofollow"><span class="ucb-link-button-contents">Bioengineer Highlight</span></a></p><p><a class="ucb-link-button ucb-link-button-blue ucb-link-button-large ucb-link-button-full" href="https://news.ssbcrack.com/breakthrough-in-nanocrystal-technology-molecular-dam-slows-energy-leaks-to-enhance-photocatalytic-efficiency/" rel="nofollow"><span class="ucb-link-button-contents">SSB Crack News Highlight</span></a></p></div></div></div></div></div><p class="lead"><em>A molecular engineering breakthrough could make key light-driven reactions over 40 times more efficient.&nbsp;</em></p><p>A collaborative team of scientists from the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of California Irvine, and Fort Lewis College, led by RASEI Fellow Gordana Dukovic, has found a way to slow energy leaks that have impeded the use of tiny nanocrystals in light-driven chemical and energy applications. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chempr.2025.102760" rel="nofollow">As described in a new article published in the journal Chem</a>, the team has used a molecule that strongly binds to the nanocrystal’s surface, essentially acting like a ‘dam’ to hold back the energy stored in the charge-separated state formed after light absorption. This technique extends the lifetime of the charge separation to the longest recorded for these materials, providing a pathway to improved efficiencies and more opportunities to put this energy to work in chemical reactions. This collaboration is part of the U.S. Department of Energy funded <a href="https://science.osti.gov/bes/efrc" rel="nofollow">Energy Frontier Research Center</a>: <a href="https://photosynthesis.uci.edu/" rel="nofollow">Ensembles of Photosynthetic Nanoreactors (EPN).</a>&nbsp;</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><h3><strong>Harnessing Light to Power Chemistry</strong></h3><p>Many of the products we rely on today, from plastics, to fertilizers, and pharmaceuticals, are created, or synthesized, through industrial chemical reactions that can often require immense heat and pressure, typically generated by burning fossil fuels. For decades there has been research exploring a less harsh and theoretically more efficient alternative: Photocatalysis. The goal is to use a compound, a “photocatalyst”, that can harness the energy in light and use it to power chemical reactions at room temperature. Semiconductor nanocrystals, particles that are over a thousand times smaller than the width of a human hair, are a leading candidate for this job. When exposed to light these nanocrystals generate a short-lived spark of energy, in the form of a separated negative charge (an electron) and a positive charge (called a “hole”, due to the absence of an electron). A key challenge in this area is that this spark disappears quickly, because the electron and the hole recombine, and the energy is lost before it can be put to good use.&nbsp;</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default 3"> <div class="ucb-article-row-subrow row"> <div class="ucb-article-text col-lg d-flex align-items-center" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><h3><strong>Building a Molecular Dam</strong></h3><p><span>To solve this problem the team focused on building what we might call a ‘molecular dam’, something that helps prevent, or at least slow down, the electron and the hole from recombining. This research started with cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanocrystals and designed a molecule (in this case a phenothiazine derivative) with two key features; first the incorporation of a chemical group that acts as a ‘sticky anchor’ (in this case a carboxylate group), which binds strongly to the nanocrystal surface, and second, a molecular structure that quickly accepts the positive charge (the hole), from the nanocrystal to realize the light-driven charge separation event.&nbsp;</span></p><p><span>By anchoring this molecule to the surface of the nanocrystal the team created a highly efficient and stable pathway. As soon as exposure to light creates the electron-hole pair in the nanocrystal, the anchored molecule shuttles the hole away, physically separating it from the electron. This physical separation of the electron and the hole prevents the two from quickly snapping back together and wasting the energy. This results in a charge-separated state that lasts for microseconds, which is an eternity in the world of photochemistry, creating a much larger window of time for future researchers to work with in terms of harnessing this captured light-driven energy for useful chemical reactions. The team was able to prove the significance of the ‘sticky anchor’ carboxylate, by comparing their derivative to a phenothiazine that lacked the anchor, which was shown to be far less effective at holding the energy, demonstrating that this anchoring to the surface was key to this system’s performance.</span></p></div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content-media ucb-article-content-media-right col-lg"> <div> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--media paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/rasei/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2025-10/structure%20overview.png?itok=TGhdDxmb" width="1500" height="1401" alt="chemical representation of the 'molecular dam'"> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><p>This collaborative work was done as part of the U.S. Department of Energy funded <a href="https://science.osti.gov/bes/efrc" rel="nofollow">Energy Frontier Research Center</a> (EFRC) <a href="https://photosynthesis.uci.edu/" rel="nofollow">Ensembles of Photosynthetic Nanoreactors (EPN).</a> EPN consists of 17 senior investigates located across 9 universities and 3 U.S. national laboratories. The goal of EPN is to provide a forum for collaboration, bringing together expertise to advance the frontiers of discovery and fundamental knowledge in photochemical energy conversion. The aim is to not only foster new discoveries and applications, but in doing so, train the researchers who will build knowledge and advances that will benefit the United States innovation and economy.</p><p>This project took advantage of the different areas of expertise of each team to generate ideas and quickly execute them. Kenny Miller’s group of dedicated undergraduate researchers at Fort Lewis College synthesized the carboxylated phenothiazine derivative (and a slew of others). Miller then sent the derivative to Jenny Yang’s group of inorganic electrochemists at UC Irvine for advanced electrochemical characterization. Gordana Dukovic’s group here at 91ý synthesized the nanocrystals, tested their compatibility with the derivative, characterized the binding, and undertook the advanced laser spectroscopy study to see how the electrons and holes behaved.</p><blockquote><p>“The first time I saw the results-saw how effective our ‘molecular dam’ was at slowing charge recombination-I knew we had struck gold” explained Dr. Sophia Click, a lead author on the study. “To slow charge recombination from nanoseconds to microseconds, and with a molecule that can be paired with so many existing photocatalyst systems, makes this work vital to share with as many researchers as possible.”</p></blockquote><p>Development of this ‘molecular dam’ could have implications for the future design of catalysts for light-driven chemistry. By increasing the efficiency of the initial energy-capture step, this system improves the efficiency of the entire process. This could improve not just one specific reaction, but rather, benefit a broad range of light-driven chemical reactions. A key technology this could enhance is the development of light-driven creation of chemical commodities or high-value chemicals. This research provides a more robust and versatile chemical toolkit for exploring these possibilities.</p><p>This discovery in controlling charge-separation, and energy, at the nanoscale is an important design parameter into developing light-driven chemistry, and hopefully light-driven chemical manufacturing. Imagine a future where materials, such as plastics, and even pharmaceuticals, are not made in energy inefficient high-temperature reactors powered by fossil fuels but instead are synthesized directly and efficiently using the power of light. While this vision is still on the horizon, the work done in this collaboration provides an important piece of the scientific puzzle, constituting a huge leap toward one day achieving these goals.</p><p><span>The study, “Exceptionally Long-Lived Charge Separated States in CdS Nanocrystals with a Covalently Bound Phenothiazine Derivative” was published in the journal 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).</span></p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>October 2025</div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Off</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/rasei/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2025-10/2025_09_ChargeSeparationHero.jpg?itok=QhN5h3UT" width="1500" height="328" alt="Illustration of the charge separation event"> </div> </div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Tue, 21 Oct 2025 19:17:19 +0000 Daniel Morton 1407 at /rasei Exceptionally long-lived charge-separated states in CdS nanocrystals with a covalently bound phenothiazine derivative /rasei/2025/10/13/exceptionally-long-lived-charge-separated-states-cds-nanocrystals-covalently-bound <span>Exceptionally long-lived charge-separated states in CdS nanocrystals with a covalently bound phenothiazine derivative</span> <span><span>Daniel Morton</span></span> <span><time datetime="2025-10-13T17:35:33-06:00" title="Monday, October 13, 2025 - 17:35">Mon, 10/13/2025 - 17:35</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/rasei/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/2025-10/2025_10_13_Chem.png?h=c4e54fe5&amp;itok=-AYZ2mlX" width="1200" height="800" alt="TOC Graphic"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/43"> Publication </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/281" hreflang="en">Catalysis</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/280" hreflang="en">Computational Modeling</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/160" hreflang="en">Dukovic</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/315" hreflang="en">EPN</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/269" hreflang="en">Energy Applications</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/274" hreflang="en">Nanoscience and Advanced Materials</a> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>CHEM, 2025, 102760<br> October 2025</div> <script> window.location.href = `https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chempr.2025.102760`; </script> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Off</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Mon, 13 Oct 2025 23:35:33 +0000 Daniel Morton 1431 at /rasei c-ALD-Grown Metal Oxide Shell Enables Distance-Independent Triplet Energy Transfer from Quantum Dots to Molecular Dyes /rasei/2025/08/14/c-ald-grown-metal-oxide-shell-enables-distance-independent-triplet-energy-transfer <span>c-ALD-Grown Metal Oxide Shell Enables Distance-Independent Triplet Energy Transfer from Quantum Dots to Molecular Dyes</span> <span><span>Daniel Morton</span></span> <span><time datetime="2025-08-14T19:49:36-06:00" title="Thursday, August 14, 2025 - 19:49">Thu, 08/14/2025 - 19:49</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/rasei/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/2025-10/2025_08_14_JACS_Thumbnail.png?h=d95abdc4&amp;itok=8f1HWCm3" width="1200" height="800" alt="TOC Graphic"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/43"> Publication </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/281" hreflang="en">Catalysis</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/160" hreflang="en">Dukovic</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/269" hreflang="en">Energy Applications</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/266" hreflang="en">Energy Generation</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/274" hreflang="en">Nanoscience and Advanced Materials</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/273" hreflang="en">Solar Power</a> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, 2025, 147, 34, 31409-31416</div> <script> window.location.href = `https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.5c11645`; </script> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Off</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Fri, 15 Aug 2025 01:49:36 +0000 Daniel Morton 1411 at /rasei Pre-steady-state kinetics of nanocrystal:molybdenum nitrogenase biohybrids reveals hole-scavenging efficiency is critical to N2 reduction /rasei/2025/07/30/pre-steady-state-kinetics-nanocrystalmolybdenum-nitrogenase-biohybrids-reveals-hole <span>Pre-steady-state kinetics of nanocrystal:molybdenum nitrogenase biohybrids reveals hole-scavenging efficiency is critical to N2 reduction</span> <span><span>Daniel Morton</span></span> <span><time datetime="2025-07-30T13:59:40-06:00" title="Wednesday, July 30, 2025 - 13:59">Wed, 07/30/2025 - 13:59</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/rasei/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/2025-08/2025_07_30_CellRepPhysSci_Thumbnail.png?h=d3502f1d&amp;itok=euJzVTyA" width="1200" height="800" alt="TOC Graphic"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/43"> Publication </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/282" hreflang="en">Bio-Catalysis</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/281" hreflang="en">Catalysis</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/160" hreflang="en">Dukovic</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/269" hreflang="en">Energy Applications</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/154" hreflang="en">King</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/274" hreflang="en">Nanoscience and Advanced Materials</a> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>CELL REPORTS PHYSICAL SCIENCE, 2025, 102732</div> <script> window.location.href = `https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrp.2025.102732`; </script> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Off</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Wed, 30 Jul 2025 19:59:40 +0000 Daniel Morton 1381 at /rasei Understanding light-driven production of hydrogen could unlock future insights for harnessing light for chemistry /rasei/2025/06/09/understanding-light-driven-production-hydrogen-could-unlock-future-insights-harnessing <span>Understanding light-driven production of hydrogen could unlock future insights for harnessing light for chemistry</span> <span><span>Daniel Morton</span></span> <span><time datetime="2025-06-09T10:27:04-06:00" title="Monday, June 9, 2025 - 10:27">Mon, 06/09/2025 - 10:27</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/rasei/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/2025-06/2025_05_Dukovic_Screen.jpg?h=8f74817f&amp;itok=nHL6908e" width="1200" height="800" alt="illustration of the hybrid catalyst reaction to produce hydrogen"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/177"> News </a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/170"> Publication Highlight </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/281" hreflang="en">Catalysis</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/160" hreflang="en">Dukovic</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/269" hreflang="en">Energy Applications</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/154" hreflang="en">King</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/385" hreflang="en">RoundupPhotocatalysis</a> </div> <a href="/rasei/our-community">Daniel Morton</a> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><p class="hero">Light to fuel: clean hydrogen production. Improved understanding of the light-driven production of hydrogen holds the promise not just to make the reaction more efficient in producing a fuel, but also to offer a framework to better understand future light-driven chemistries.&nbsp;</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default 3"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div> <div class="align-right image_style-small_500px_25_display_size_"> <div class="imageMediaStyle small_500px_25_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/rasei/sites/default/files/styles/small_500px_25_display_size_/public/2025-06/Researchers.png?itok=AMkHdHgK" width="375" height="283" alt="Profile pictures of Gordana Dukovic and Paul King"> </div> </div> <p>Many chemical reactions require the input of energy to <a rel="nofollow">activate</a> the transformation. This can often be in the form of heat, or chemical energy. One of the most efficient ways of introducing energy into a reaction is by using light. If you don’t have to heat up a reaction, or add extra chemicals to it, and instead shine a light on it, you can save significant energy. However, it can be difficult to control and optimize light-driven reactions. This research, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chempr.2025.102594" rel="nofollow">just published in Chem</a>, is a collaboration between the <a href="/lab/dukovicgroup/" rel="nofollow">Dukovic Group</a> at the University of Colorado Boulder (91ý) and the <a href="https://research-hub.nrel.gov/en/persons/paul-king" rel="nofollow">King Group</a> at the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) and provides a holistic understanding of the light-driven production of hydrogen gas using a nanocrystal-enzyme complex as the catalyst, and a computational framework that can be used more generally to understand other light-driven chemical reactions in the future. The code for this model is being made available in the supplementary documents of this article.&nbsp;</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default 3"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><p><span>Chemical catalysis is a special type of reaction, one that increases the speed of a transformation and often reduces the amount of waste produced by the process. Think of it like an assembly line. The catalyst is like a station on the line, bringing together two or more components to create a new product that is then passed along. Without the catalyst the components might, by chance, bump together and form the desired product, but it will be much slower, and much less frequent. The catalyst remains unchanged in the process and can repeat the transformation many times.&nbsp;</span></p> <div class="align-right image_style-medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/rasei/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/2025-06/Overall.png?itok=swecEmsu" width="750" height="855" alt="Overview of different types of catalysis"> </div> </div> <p>Enzymes are Nature’s catalysts. On the cellular level, whenever a change needs to happen, an enzyme is usually involved. The speed of an enzyme, and its selectivity, that is its ability to only react with the desired molecules out of the soup of molecules present in a typical cell, is fantastic. Enzymes are often superior to catalysts we can make in a lab, and as such, much research has gone into finding ways to harness such enzymes to do reactions for us in the lab. Unfortunately, it is not as easy as just grabbing some enzyme out of a cell. Enzymes often require specific environments and partners to react with.</p><p><span>Redox enzymes are a special, and particularly attractive, class of enzymes. They are capable of adding, or removing, an electron from a chemical reaction, a key step in the production of hydrogen gas. Redox enzymes rarely exist by themselves. Returning to the assembly line analogy, to get a station that can add the electrons to the protons (H<sup>+</sup>) to make hydrogen gas, many other stations need to be added before in a specific order. In a cell there is a chain of enzymes that pass the electrons along before the reaction can take place.&nbsp;</span></p><p><span>This is where the artificial component comes in. The nanocrystal, which, when exposed to light, releases an electron, replaces the long chain of enzymes and can directly transfer an electron to the enzyme. So, you reduce your assembly line down from a chain of many stations to just two. “This work was really only possible through collaboration” explains Gordana Dukovic, the lead researcher at 91ý. “The team at NREL have vast expertise in hydrogenase (the redox enzyme that creates hydrogen gas), and we have the expertise in making and tailoring the nanocrystals and studying what they do after they absorb light”. Getting the enzyme to work with the artificial electron donor took some work.</span></p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-large"><div class="ucb-callout-content"><div class="ucb-box ucb-box-title-left ucb-box-alignment-none ucb-box-style-fill ucb-box-theme-lightgray"><div class="ucb-box-inner"><div class="ucb-box-title">Show me more!</div><div class="ucb-box-content"><p><a class="ucb-link-button ucb-link-button-blue ucb-link-button-full ucb-link-button-large" href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chempr.2025.102594" rel="nofollow"><span class="ucb-link-button-contents">This Research</span></a></p><p><a class="ucb-link-button ucb-link-button-blue ucb-link-button-full ucb-link-button-regular" href="https://doi.org/10.1021/ja2116348" rel="nofollow"><span class="ucb-link-button-contents">Characterization of Photochemical Processes</span></a></p><p><a class="ucb-link-button ucb-link-button-blue ucb-link-button-full ucb-link-button-regular" href="https://doi.org/10.1021/ja413001p" rel="nofollow"><span class="ucb-link-button-contents">Electron Transfer Kinetics</span></a></p><p><a class="ucb-link-button ucb-link-button-blue ucb-link-button-full ucb-link-button-regular" href="https://doi.org/10.1039/C4CP05993J" rel="nofollow"><span class="ucb-link-button-contents">Competition between electron transfer processes</span></a></p><p><a class="ucb-link-button ucb-link-button-blue ucb-link-button-full ucb-link-button-regular" href="https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.7b04216" rel="nofollow"><span class="ucb-link-button-contents">Activation Thermodynamics</span></a></p><p><a class="ucb-link-button ucb-link-button-blue ucb-link-button-full ucb-link-button-regular" href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.7b07229" rel="nofollow"><span class="ucb-link-button-contents">Role of Surface-Capping Ligands</span></a></p><p><a class="ucb-link-button ucb-link-button-blue ucb-link-button-full ucb-link-button-regular" href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jpcc.8b09916" rel="nofollow"><span class="ucb-link-button-contents">Quantum Efficiency of Charge Transfer</span></a></p><p><a class="ucb-link-button ucb-link-button-blue ucb-link-button-full ucb-link-button-regular" href="https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-physchem-050317-014232" rel="nofollow"><span class="ucb-link-button-contents">2020 Review of this research area</span></a></p></div></div></div></div></div><p>The two teams first started working together in 2011 and have invested a great deal of work in understanding many aspects of this nanocrystal-enzyme hybrid. “Working with the team at NREL has been really amazing” says Dukovic, “the opportunity to work with experts who really help you ask the important questions, and identify where our assumptions were wrong, was essential for this work.” For over more than a decade this collaboration has interrogated the different steps of this process, such as how the nanocrystal and enzyme fit together, how the nanocrystal generates an electron when exposed to light, how the nanocrystal transfers the electron to the enzyme, and how the enzyme uses those electrons to make hydrogen. It is only through building this comprehensive understanding of the steps that underpin this reaction that the team are in the position to provide a holistic picture of the whole transformation. Furthermore, the framework that they have built is robust enough to be applied in improving other light-driven reactions in the future.</p><p>This work describes an improved assembly line capable of converting light energy into hydrogen gas, a clean burning fuel that provides new, more efficient ways, to generate electricity. Perhaps more excitingly, it demonstrates the power of a new computational model and framework, built on over a decade of collaborative research, which has been made freely available, that provides insights into light-driven reactions and can be used by the scientific community to refine and optimize future light-driven chemistry. Helena Keller, the lead author is enthusiastic about the next steps “We are in a really exciting place now, where the capabilities of using computational methods to understand complex systems like this are becoming more and more accessible. The better we understand how to control processes at the smallest scales – like at the level of individual electron transfers – the closer we get to revolutionizing the way we produce energy and materials for the good of the world”.&nbsp;</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>JUNE 2025</div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Off</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/rasei/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2025-06/2025_05_Dukovic_Wide.jpg?itok=eU2FoTF3" width="1500" height="328" alt="Illustration of hybrid nanocrystal-enzyme photocatalysis"> </div> </div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Mon, 09 Jun 2025 16:27:04 +0000 Daniel Morton 1300 at /rasei Rate-limiting regimes in photochemical H2 generation by complexes of colloidal CdS nanorods and hydrogenase /rasei/2025/05/23/rate-limiting-regimes-photochemical-h2-generation-complexes-colloidal-cds-nanorods-and <span>Rate-limiting regimes in photochemical H2 generation by complexes of colloidal CdS nanorods and hydrogenase</span> <span><span>Daniel Morton</span></span> <span><time datetime="2025-05-23T16:07:30-06:00" title="Friday, May 23, 2025 - 16:07">Fri, 05/23/2025 - 16:07</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/rasei/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/2025-06/2025_05_23_Chem.png?h=2469e47b&amp;itok=qUUnUR3y" width="1200" height="800" alt="TOC Graphic"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/43"> Publication </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/282" hreflang="en">Bio-Catalysis</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/281" hreflang="en">Catalysis</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/280" hreflang="en">Computational Modeling</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/160" hreflang="en">Dukovic</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/269" hreflang="en">Energy Applications</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/276" hreflang="en">Fuels</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/286" hreflang="en">Hydrogen</a> <a href="/rasei/taxonomy/term/154" hreflang="en">King</a> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>CHEM, 2025, 102594</div> <script> window.location.href = `https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chempr.2025.102594`; </script> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Off</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Fri, 23 May 2025 22:07:30 +0000 Daniel Morton 1325 at /rasei