Solar Energy Conversion and Energy Storage to Address the Seriousness of Energy Security and Environmental Issues by Mimicking the Ingenuity of Nature
Institutions: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California Berkeley, USA
The quest for exploring renewable energy using sunlight to imitate the natural photosynthesis has emerged as a sustainable strategy to resolve the bottleneck due to the exploitation of fossil fuels, since it harnesses direct energy from the sun. In this regard, semiconductor photo(electro) catalysis has been profiled as one of the most appealing routes for solar energy conversion. The research will uncover clean energy resources to substitute fossil fuels towards sustainable energy production. Solar light comprises 4% of UV and 45% of visible light region, while near-infrared light (NIR) constitutes almost half of the energy output from the solar light. Therefore, this study will look at providing new research horizons in developing cost-effective hybrid nanocomposites, which can achieve ultrabroad-spectrum absorption by harvesting photon energies spanning from UV to NIR region.
This project aims to revolutionize the renewable energy project for the practical benefits and technological readiness.
Additional Facts:
- Dr Ong possesses a PhD in Chemical Engineering and a Bachelor of Engineering, Monash University.
- His energy research was inspired by his long-time idol – Prof. Yang Peidong, who is presently a Professor at the University of California, Berkeley
- He has been named 2018 Emerging Investigator in the Journal of Materials Chemistry A by the Royal Society of Chemistry, UK
- Serves on the Editorial Board of several journals, including Frontiers in Chemistry, Materials Horizons, Scientific Reports and Nanotechnology
- Loves listening to music and enjoys travelling with friends