Rea Laila Antoniou Kourounioti
Rea Laila Antoniou Kourounioti,
Multidisciplinary Centre of Integrative Biology,
The University of Nottingham,
Sutton Bonington, LE12 5RD.
Phone: 0115 9512683
Artificial photosynthesis of hybrid systems
Project Supervisors: Erik Murchie, Mercedes Maroto-Valer, Oliver Jensen, Alexander Ruban (Queen Mary, University of London).
Student Background:
BSc in Biology, Imperial College London, UK
Degree in Mathematics, University of Crete, Greece
Project Background: Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the main product of combustion of fossil fuels, therefore a large component of power plants' emissions, and it is a long-lived greenhouse gas. Thus it is implicated in two of the major challenges of the foreseeable future, the energy crisis and climate change due to the greenhouse effect. A combined solution for both lies in the photoreduction of CO2 using TiO2 photocatalysts to yield methane, which can be used as a fuel. This process is also called artificial photosynthesis. However, the amounts of methane produced are too small for commercial production. This is partly because CO2 is a low energy molecule while methane is a much higher energy molecule. The energy difference between them needs to be given to CO2 in the process of the photoreaction and it is provided by the light that is absorbed by the photocatalyst. Additionally, the catalyst absorbs UV light, which is only a small portion of the solar radiation. There is an organic complex in plants that absorbs visible light very efficiently even under low light intensities, the Light Harvesting Complex II (LHCII), and we are investigating whether this could be combined with the catalyst to improve its efficiency by passing on light energy to it.
Project Outline: This project will investigate methods for the immobilisation of LHCII on the catalyst surface and the effects of the immobilisation on the photocatalysis reaction. We will start by exploring the properties of LHCII when it is immobilised on the surface, to find the optimum method for immobilisation and to understand the interaction between the organic complex and inorganic catalyst. The resulting hybrid complexes will be tested in the reactor for catalytic efficiency and response of yield to different conditions (such as light intensity and wavelength). Finally, a mathematical model will be developed for the hybrid system to facilitate our understanding of the process and its optimisation.
Contact Rea Laila Antoniou Kourounioti: email