Chemistry Graduate Seminar presented by Dr. Dalvin Méndez Hernández, UPR-Cayey; Hosted by Dr. Dalice M. Piñero Cruz
Seminar Title: Computational design of dyes for electron transfer reactions.
Presented by: Dr. Dalvin D. Méndez-Hernández, UPR-Cayey
Abstract:
Producing fuels from resources that are abundant, such as sunlight, H2O and CO2, remains a technological challenge. Photocatalytic solar cells based on Dye-Sensitized Water-Splitting Photo-Anodes (DSWSPAs) have recently emerged as promising alternative for the production of solar fuels. However, the currently available DSWSPAs are unstable and inefficient. These limitations could be resolved by improving the electron transfer process for DSWPAs. Our approach is to design efficient and stable photo-anodes by using computational methodologies. In this presentation, I will show the effort of my group to develop cost-effective computational methodologies to evaluate the transfer rates and driving forces of electron transfer reactions of organic molecules. The talk will focus on methods considering molecular orbital energies and estimations of intermolecular electron transfer rates using Marcus’ electron transfer theory. I will also show our efforts in the characterization of natural and artificial photosynthetic systems combining computational and spectroscopic methods.
Short-Bio
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Dalvin D. Méndez Hernández is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of Puerto Rico at Cayey. He graduated from Universidad Metropolitana in 2008 with B.S. degree in Chemistry. Professor Méndez completed his Ph.D. studies in 2014 at the Arizona State University, where he was an NSF-GRFP graduate fellow. Afterward, he joined Prof. Batista’s group in Yale University as a postdoctoral researcher. Professor Méndez teaches General, Physical, and Computational Chemistry courses and his research focus on artificial photosynthesis. His work has involved the design, synthesis, and characterization of dyes for water-splitting dye-sensitized photoanodes as well as the computational characterization of artificial and biological photosynthetic systems.
