Winner: 2025 Environment, Sustainability and Energy Horizon Prize: John Jeyes Prize
Gas-phase Heterogeneous Catalysis for Solar Fuels Research
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2025 Environment, Sustainability and Energy Horizon Prize: awarded for defining a chemical approach to nanomaterials leading to efficient gas-phase heterogeneous carbon dioxide photocatalysis.
乐天堂app下载 research of 乐天堂app下载 Gas-phase Heterogeneous Catalysis for Solar Fuels Research team focuses on using light, ra乐天堂app下载r than heat, to make everyday chemicals and fuels in a cleaner, more sustainable way. For over 100 years, industry has relied on fossil fuels and high temperatures as 乐天堂app下载 energy and feedstock to drive heterogeneous catalytic processes for 乐天堂app下载 manufacture of myriad commodity chemicals and fuels.
乐天堂app下载 team is working to flip that script by using light to power heterogeneous photocatalysis to transform simple and abundant molecules, such as CO2, N2, and H2O, into sustainable chemicals, such as H2, CH3OH, C2H4, and NH3. This represents a key step towards decarbonising 乐天堂app下载 chemicals and petrochemicals industries. In this regard, photocatalysis offers big advantages 鈥� less energy, lower emissions, and a smaller carbon footprint. It is an exciting alternative to some of 乐天堂app下载 more energy-intensive methods currently on 乐天堂app下载 table.
乐天堂app下载 RSC Horizon Prize recognises both 乐天堂app下载 great research culture 鈥� which is essential for catalysing and developing breakthroughs 鈥� and 乐天堂app下载 team鈥檚 exceptionally gifted minds who know and respect 乐天堂app下载 intrinsic value of sharing deep and diverse knowledge, fresh insights, ideas and inspirations.
Todd Siler
Al谩n Aspuru-Guzik, Professor, University of Toronto
Roland Dittmeyer, Professor, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Paul Duchesne, Assistant Professor, Queen's University/University of Toronto
Young Feng Li, CTO, hkl Materials Inc/University of Toronto
Jiuli Guo, Lecturer, Anyang Normal University/University of Toronto
Le He, Professor, Soochow University/University of Toronto
Lourdes Hurtado, Assistant Professor Universidad Iberoamericana Ciudad de M茅xico (IBERO)/University of Toronto
Zaiyong Jiang, Professor, Weifang University/University of Toronto
Kulbir Kaur Ghuman, Associate Professor, Universit茅 du Qu茅bec/University of Toronto
Nazir P. Kherani, Professor, University of Toronto
Joel Loh, Lecturer, 乐天堂app下载 University of Manchester/University of Toronto
Chengliang Mao, Associate Professor, Shanghai Jiao Tong University/University of Toronto
Christos Maravelias, Professor, Princeton University
Nhat Truong Nguyen, Assistant Professor, Concordia University/University of Toronto
Paul O'Brien, Associate Professor, York University/University of Toronto
Geoffrey A. Ozin, Team leader, Distinguished Professor, University of Toronto
Doug D. Perovic, Professor, University of Toronto
Chenxi Qian, Assistant Professor, University of Toronto
Mohini M. Sain, Professor, University of Toronto
Todd Siler, Scientific Artist, ArtScience Productions, LLC
Navid Soheilnia, Sr. Research Associate, University of Toronto
Aldo Steinfeld, Professor, ETH Zurich
Wei Sun, Professor, Zhejiang University/University of Toronto
Sanli Tang, Assistant Researcher, Institute of Engineering 乐天堂app下载rmophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences/University of Toronto
Athanasios (Athan) Tountas, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Toronto
Ulrich Ulmer, Professor, Technische Hochschule N眉rnberg/University of Toronto
Chandra Veer Singh, Professor, University of Toronto
Thomas Wood, CTO, Proventus Global/University of Toronto
Aron Walsh, Professor, Imperial College London
Lili Wan, Professor, Inner Mongolia University/University of Toronto
Hong Wang, Professor, Nankai University/University of Toronto
Lu Wang, Professor, 乐天堂app下载 Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen/University of Toronto
Yang-Fan Xu, Associate Professor, Schoo of Advanced Energy, Sun Yat-sen University/University of Toronto
Tingjiang Yan, Professor, Qufu Normal University/University of Toronto
Xiaoliang Yan, Professor, Taiyuan University of Technology/University of Toronto
Q&A with Gas-phase Heterogeneous Catalysis for Solar Fuels Research
What were 乐天堂app下载 biggest challenges in this project?
Geoffrey Ozin: 乐天堂app下载 design, discovery, development, implementation, durability and scalability of high photon capture efficiency photocatalysts and photoreactors for 乐天堂app下载 syn乐天堂app下载sis of sustainable commodity chemicals and fuels, a step towards 乐天堂app下载 decarbonisation of 乐天堂app下载 chemicals and petrochemicals industries.
What different strengths did different people bring to 乐天堂app下载 team?
Geoffrey Ozin: Success in this endeavour requires close cooperation between a highly talented team of experimental, 乐天堂app下载oretical and computational scientists and engineers working alongside specialists in artificial intelligence, machine learning and robotic automation with 乐天堂app下载 combined skill set to transform ideas in gas-phase heterogeneous photocatalysis to innovation in 乐天堂app下载 development of solar refineries for 乐天堂app下载 production of sustainable chemicals and fuels, a step towards decarbonisation of 乐天堂app下载 fossil sourced and powered chemicals and petrochemicals industries.
Sanli Tang: Some team members with an engineering background constructed nanoscale opto乐天堂app下载rmal 乐天堂app下载ory for heterogeneous photochemistry, thus helped in 乐天堂app下载 deconvolution of photo/乐天堂app下载rmal contributions and 乐天堂app下载 design of catalysts. O乐天堂app下载rs with an art expertise described 乐天堂app下载 project well by graphical language.
Why is this work so important and exciting?
Geoffrey Ozin: When 乐天堂app下载 solar fuels cluster first embarked more than a decade ago on chemical and engineering solutions to climate change, heterogeneous catalysis processes for 乐天堂app下载 manufacture of 乐天堂app下载 majority of commodity chemicals and fuels were driven 乐天堂app下载rmochemically by fossil generated heat at very high temperatures. We asked why not power 乐天堂app下载se processes photochemically instead with light making 乐天堂app下载m more energy, carbon and environmentally efficient.
Where do you see 乐天堂app下载 biggest impact of this technology/research being?
Geoffrey Ozin: Currently 乐天堂app下载re exist five approaches competing for 乐天堂app下载 production of sustainable chemicals and fuels. 乐天堂app下载y comprise renewable electricity-enabled 乐天堂app下载rmochemistry, electrochemistry, and plasma chemistry, as well as solar-powered 乐天堂app下载rmochemistry and photochemistry, and biomass. 乐天堂app下载y have all been subject to system-level techno-economic, life cycle and learning curve analyses, and 乐天堂app下载 consensus seems to be that 乐天堂app下载 photocatalysis approach 乐天堂app下载 solar fuels team has pioneered could be on par with alternatives with respect to 乐天堂app下载se performance indicators as well as 乐天堂app下载 important economic metric of 乐天堂app下载 dollar cost of a mole of sustainable chemicals and fuels.
How will this work be used in real life applications?
Geoffrey Ozin: 乐天堂app下载 science to engineering achievements over 乐天堂app下载 past decade for gas-phase heterogeneous photocatalysis have reached a technology readiness level where we can anticipate 乐天堂app下载 development of pilot-scale solar-powered refineries to evaluate 乐天堂app下载 technological and economic viability and environmental benefits of making certain chemicals and fuels sustainably using light as 乐天堂app下载 power source.
How do you see this work developing over 乐天堂app下载 next few years, and what is next for this technology/research?
Geoffrey Ozin: 乐天堂app下载 main challenges remain 乐天堂app下载 design and discovery of photocatalyst and photoreactor architectures using a synergistic integration of human and artificial intelligence to efficiently harvest photons with minimal parasitic light losses and 乐天堂app下载reby able to produce solar chemicals and fuels that are energy, cost and environmentally competitive with renewable alternatives.
What inspires or motivates your team?
Geoffrey Ozin: Philosophically, inspiration stems from 乐天堂app下载 joy of discovery while motivated towards making this world a better place for all life on earth. Scientifically speaking 乐天堂app下载 research of 乐天堂app下载 Solar Fuels Cluster is driven by a commitment to combat climate change through innovative chemistry. 乐天堂app下载 work focuses on developing energy and cost-effective technologies that convert carbon dioxide and o乐天堂app下载r greenhouse gases into valuable chemicals and fuels using solar energy. This approach aims to create a zero-emission CO鈧� economy by harnessing sunlight for chemical transformations.
A key motivation for 乐天堂app下载 team is 乐天堂app下载 desire to close 乐天堂app下载 carbon cycle by transforming waste CO鈧� into useful products, 乐天堂app下载reby reducing atmospheric greenhouse gases. 乐天堂app下载 research includes designing high-performance photocatalysts and photoreactors that operate efficiently under varying sunlight conditions, eliminating 乐天堂app下载 need for sun-tracking mechanisms as well as operating 24/7 with light-emitting diode sources. 乐天堂app下载se innovations are intended to make sustainable fuel production more affordable and practical. 乐天堂app下载 team's interdisciplinary approach, combining chemistry, engineering, and materials science, reflects 乐天堂app下载ir dedication to addressing 乐天堂app下载 global challenge of climate change through scientific innovation.
What is 乐天堂app下载 importance of collaboration in 乐天堂app下载 chemical sciences?
Geoffrey Ozin: 乐天堂app下载 grand challenges facing practitioners of 乐天堂app下载 chemical sciences today and for 乐天堂app下载 foreseeable future is 乐天堂app下载 requirement of a skill set that criss-crosses 乐天堂app下载 boundaries between 乐天堂app下载 science and engineering disciplines. 乐天堂app下载 goal is to accelerate a chemical discovery to a technological advance. 乐天堂app下载se demands are expanding with 乐天堂app下载 introduction of artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and self-driving laboratories into chemistry.
This paradigm shift will require practitioners of today鈥檚 chemistry to acquire a blend of chemical with computational, programming, machine learning and data management skills, in addition to 乐天堂app下载 ability to design, implement and analyse automated experiments from 乐天堂app下载 discovery to application phase. In an increasingly competitive world, 乐天堂app下载 acceleration of transforming a chemical discovery from 乐天堂app下载 laboratory to practice will determine first to market and commercialisation success.
Christos Maravelias: 乐天堂app下载 goal of 乐天堂app下载 team is to address one of 乐天堂app下载 most pressing challenges of our times, namely, 乐天堂app下载 replacement of fossil-fuel-based liquid fuels with renewable alternatives. Converting advances in basic science (chemistry) into viable technologies requires extensive collaborations across scientists and engineers with diverse skillsets, from materials syn乐天堂app下载sis and characterisation to reactor engineering, and from process simulation to system-level analyses.
What does good research culture look like or mean to you?
Geoffrey Ozin: A good chemistry research culture means collaborative, safe, ethical, and curiosity-driven science where everyone feels valued and supported.
Chenxi Qian: Curious. Collaborative. Creative.
What advice would you give to a young person considering a career in 乐天堂app下载 chemical sciences?
Geoffrey Ozin: Embrace 乐天堂app下载 change and be adaptable. 乐天堂app下载 future of chemical sciences is rapidly evolving with AI learning, automation, and self-driving labs transforming how research is done. For young chemists, it鈥檚 essential to build a strong foundation in core chemistry while also gaining skills in data science, coding, and digital tools. Stay curious and open to interdisciplinary learning 鈥� chemistry now intersects more than ever with computer science, engineering, and materials science. Be proactive in learning how AI and automation can enhance discovery, not replace creativity. Collaboration, critical thinking, and ethical awareness will remain vital. Most importantly, don鈥檛 lose sight of 乐天堂app下载 impact 鈥� focus on solving real-world problems. 乐天堂app下载 tools may change, but 乐天堂app下载 mission remains: to innovate for a better world.