Photoelectrochemistry · Catalysis · Solar energy
Research
We develop materials, catalysts and integrated technologies that harness sunlight to drive chemical transformations and sustainable fuel production.
Explore our research
Research themes
Discover the research themes that bring together materials chemistry, catalysis, biology and device engineering across the ReisnerLab.
Solar-driven chemistry
Photoelectrochemistry
Semiconducting materials and photoelectrodes for converting sunlight into chemical energy.
Solar fuels
Solar Reforming
Using sunlight to transform waste and biomass into valuable chemicals and fuels.
Biological interfaces
Semi-artificial Photosynthesis
Combining synthetic materials with biological catalysts to create new routes for solar chemical synthesis.
From materials to devices
Integrated Technologies
Designing integrated systems that connect solar energy conversion, catalysis, separation and reactor engineering.
Enzymes & materials
Biohybrid Catalysis
Integrating enzymes, microorganisms and synthetic materials to enable selective chemical transformations.
Photocatalytic synthesis
Organic Synthesis
Light-driven methods for sustainable organic transformations and the synthesis of valuable chemicals.
Our facilities
Resources for all kinds of research
The laboratory houses extensive analytical and synthetic capability: five gas
chromatographs, a separate GC-MS and a HPLC provide chromatographic analysis to
identify and quantify gases, small and heavy organics and water soluble molecules.
Further analytics include a fluorimeter, mass spectrometer, in-situ IR, and UV-Vis
instrumentation.
The extensive experimental space hosts four gloveboxes, nine solar simulators (two
with large illumination area), three 25-slot LED photoreactors, 14 potentiostats (two
with high current capabilities for electrolyser work and four with multiple experimental
channels), five furnaces (three muffle, two tube), autoclaves and classic molecular
synthesis equipment (>10 Schlenk lines, extensive glassware, rotary evaporators,
kugelrohr etc.).
Our dedicated biological laboratory has all the equipment for culturing anaerobic
microbes (dedicated glovebox with shaker and UV-Vis) alongside PCR, gel imaging and
protein purification equipment. This is further supported by access to the department
Molecular Production and Characterisation Centre.
Department facilities provide NMR, XRD, SEM/TEM, microanalysis and high-resolution
mass spectrometry. The Henry Royce Institute in the Maxwell Centre provides further
advanced characterisation equipment including XPS, as does the UK Diamond
synchrotron.