Recent advances in green and sustainable chemistry increasingly rely on the ability to design inorganic materials whose structure and composition are precisely tailored at the nano‑ and micro‑scale. We have used a range of approaches to control the morphology and composition of inorganic materials. This manipulation of the structure, porosity, surface area and composition has resulted in materials having potential application in the areas of energy conversion and storage and environmental pollutant degradation.
In this presentation, I will focus on photocatalysts and electrocatalysts for pollutant degradation, hydrogen evolution and electrochemical CO₂ reduction, highlighting how control over crystal growth, defect structure and heterojunction formation translates directly into improved performance and selectivity. When surface interactions are important for initiating reactions, the structural design of a material plays an important role in determining the final effectiveness of the material. A range of approaches can be used to manipulate the morphological properties of materials. This can enhance the accessible surface area and pore structure, therefore increasing the number of surface reactions and the diffusion of reactant and product from the reaction site.
This work was supported by ARC Discovery Projects (DP180103815 and DP220100945) and the Centre of Excellence for GETCO2 (CE230100017).