Michael Gunawan

Given that Australia receives the highest solar radiation per area globally, photoelectrocatalysis (PEC) offers an opportunity to directly convert solar energy into usable form of chemicals. Nowadays, most PEC systems focus on the water-splitting reaction (i.e., breaking down water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen), with the generated hydrogen could be used as both feedstocks and energy carriers.  

However, the efficiency of aforementioned system is far from practical application due to the sluggish water oxidation reaction. Therefore, our research focuses on enhancing PEC performance by employing organic oxidation reactions as a replacement for water oxidation reactions.