Revealing ultrafast molecular processes for cleaner energy and environments
The Laboratory for Ultrafast Laser Spectroscopy uses ultrafast and steady-state optical techniques to reveal what happens when light interacts with molecules and nanoscale materials. Led by Associate Professor Tak Kee, the group tracks excited states, energy transfer, charge separation and reactive electrons over extremely short timescales, and uses that molecular insight to improve materials for clean-energy and environmental applications.
Current research centres on organic semiconductor nanoparticles and other photoactive materials, and on how their composition, structure and environment affect photocatalytic hydrogen generation, solar-energy conversion and the breakdown of persistent pollutants. The group also studies singlet fission, a process that creates two triplet excited states from one absorbed photon, and emerging nonlinear optical methods for monitoring molecular transport across biological membranes.
Combining physical chemistry, materials chemistry and advanced spectroscopy, the laboratory works across chemistry, photonics, environmental science and biology to translate an understanding of light-driven processes into more efficient photocatalysts, energy technologies and sensing approaches.
