image: The plaque of the Minister of Science and ICT Award, presented at the Nano Korea 2022. view more
Credit: Professor Ji-Hyun Jang
Professor Ji-Hyun Jang in the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering at UNIST has been awarded the Minister of Science and ICT Award at the 20th international nano technology exhibition, namely the ‘Nano Korea 2022.’ This award has been given to her in recognition of her contributions to the development of more efficient hydrogen production technology with the use of Germanium‐doped artificial leaves.
Artificial leaves are silicon-based devices that use solar energy to split hydrogen and oxygen in water, thereby producing hydrogen energy in a clean way, leaving virtually no pollutants. As a result, this has been considered as an emerging technology that contributes to realizing the 2050 Carbon Neutrality.
Hematite (α-Fe2O3) is considered a promising material for photoelectrochemical water splitting due to its excellent stability in alkaline media, low cost, and high abundance of iron. However, it features a short hole-diffusion-length, low electrical conductivity, and low absorption coefficient issues. To solve this, researchers have proposed several doping approaches, using other substances and germanium was one of them. However, it proved as less effective than other substances. In this regard, Professor Jang and her research team found effective solution to to improve the efficiency of hydrogen production. Their findings have been published in the July 2022 issue of Nature Communications.
Nano Korea, the global market place for commercialization of nanotechnology, is one of the Top 3 international nanotechnology convergence events. Took place in KINTEX (Korea International Exhibition Center) in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, the exhibition invited about 200 industry technology specialists to join a discussion forum, which provided insight into the latest trends in advanced nanotechnology.