My research will focus on developing new strategies based on aminophosphine chemistry to access a range of mono and multimetallic metal phosphide nanocrystals for energy-relevant applications, including photoelectrochemcial transformations and light harvesting. My recently accepted manuscript demonstrates the viability of this approach for a range of binary materials, including transition metal phosphides that are active electrocatalysts for hydrogen production. During the period of the award I will explore additional binary materials, but also broaden the scope of this work to include ternary alloys. Such alloyed materials are hypothesized to have high catalytic activity for a number of energy-relevant transformations, but can be challenging to access synthetically. Concurrently, I will also be investigating the process of cation exchange into copper phosphide prepared by this method to access high quality nanocrystals for light harvesting and emissive applications.
Advisor Brandi Cossairt – Chemistry