TU München

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The Chair for Experimental Semiconductor Physics at the Walter Schottky Institute (WSI) of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) is led by Prof. Ian Sharp and focuses on investigation of functional semiconductors, catalysts, and interfaces for renewable energy conversion. A specific emphasis of this research is on formation and characterization of artificial photosystems for direct capture and conversion of sunlight to chemical fuels (e.g. solar water splitting and carbon dioxide reduction). Major research areas include the development of new semiconductor light absorbers, stabilization and activation of (photo)electrochemical interfaces, and mechanistic elucidation of fundamental steps in the light-to-chemical energy conversion process. Within the H2Demo project, the Sharp group will investigate (photo)corrosion mechanisms and use this knowledge to develop efficient photocathode interfaces exhibiting long-term operational stability.

Key Publications

  1. F.M. Toma, J.K. Cooper, V. Kunzelmann, M.T. McDowell, J. Yu, D.M. Larson, N.J. Borys, C. Abelyan, J.W. Beeman, K.M. Yu, J. Yang, L. Chen, M.R. Shaner, J. Spurgeon, F.A. Houle, K.A. Persson, & I.D. Sharp, Mechanistic insights into chemical and photochemical transformations of bismuth vanadate photoanodes, Nature Comm. 7, 12012 (2016).
  2. J. Yang, J.K. Cooper, F.M. Toma, K.A. Walczak, M. Favaro, J.W. Beeman, L.H. Hess, C. Wang, C. Zhu, S. Gul, J. Yano, C. Kisielowski, A. Schwartzberg, I.D. Sharp, A multifunctional biphasic water splitting catalyst tailored for integration with high-performance semiconductor photoanodes, Nature Materials 16, 335 (2017)
  3. G. Segev, J.W. Beeman, J.B. Greenblatt, I.D. Sharp, Hybrid photoelectrochemical and photovoltaic cells for simultaneous production of chemical fuels and electrical power, Nature Materials 17, 1115 (2018).
  4. A. Henning, J.D. Bartl, A. Zeidler, S. Qian, O. Bienek, C.‐M. Jiang, C. Paulus, B. Rieger, M. Stutzmann, I.D. Sharp, Aluminum Oxide at the Monolayer Limit via Oxidant‐Free Plasma‐Assisted Atomic Layer Deposition on GaN, Advanced Functional Materials, 2101441 (2021).