Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Grant for Dr. Jie Wei
Dr. Jie Wei strives to further elucidate the nanoscale structure-property relationships at electrocatalytic interfaces for CO2 and CO conversion. © C. Kley / HZB
In April, Dr. Jie Wei started his research work in the Helmholtz Young Investigator Group Nanoscale Operando CO2 Photo-Electrocatalysis at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and Fritz Haber Institute (FHI) of the Max Planck Society. Wei received one of the highly competitive Humboldt postdoctoral research fellowships and will pursue his two-year project under the guidance of the academic hosts Dr. Christopher Kley and Prof. Dr. Beatriz Roldan Cuenya.
Jie Wei is a native of China and obtained his PhD in physical chemistry at the University of Science and Technology of China. He spent two years as a postdoc at Tsinghua University (China). His previous works focused on the interface structure and dynamic behavior of catalysts under reaction conditions using (video-rate) electrochemical scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), differential electrochemical mass spectrometry and in situ Raman spectroscopy.
“I applied for a postdoctoral position in this group because of the hosts’ expertise in employing cutting-edge in situ surface-sensitive characterization techniques for advancing fundamental understanding of catalysts under reaction conditions,” says Wei. “Together, HZB and FHI offer a unique range of cutting-edge experimental resources along with a strong theory support for calculation and modeling of solid-liquid interfaces. Having access to such advanced spectroscopic characterization tools, particularly electrochemical atomic force microscopy, is awesome. I strive to further elucidate the nanoscale structure-property relationships at electrocatalytic interfaces for CO2 and CO conversion,” he continues.
From his stay in Berlin, Wei also expects to expand his scientific expertise, moving towards more sundry methodologies and more complex sample systems.
“With Jie’s expertise, we look forward to pushing forward the field of nanoscale electrocatalysis for renewable energy conversion and storage", says Christopher Kley. “A key for our successful research is a very diverse and open environment. I am delighted that Jie will enrich our team with new perspectives and ideas“, Beatriz Roldan Cuenya adds.
HZB and FHI have been collaborating on catalysis research for several years. Together they operate the BMBF funded large-scale Catalysis Laboratory (CatLab).
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation annually awards various fellowships to outstanding scientists from all over the world in all disciplines. The fellowships are highly prized, and the “Humboltians”-community counts numerous Nobel Prizes.
- New instrument at BESSY II: The OÆSE endstation in EMILA new instrument is now available at BESSY II for investigating catalyst materials, battery electrodes and other energy devices under operating conditions: the Operando Absorption and Emission Spectroscopy on EMIL (OÆSE) endstation in the Energy Materials In-situ Laboratory Berlin (EMIL). A team led by Raul Garcia-Diez and Marcus Bär showcases the instrument’s capabilities via a proof-of-concept study on electrodeposited copper.
- Green hydrogen: A cage structured material transforms into a performant catalystClathrates are characterised by a complex cage structure that provides space for guest ions too. Now, for the first time, a team has investigated the suitability of clathrates as catalysts for electrolytic hydrogen production with impressive results: the clathrate sample was even more efficient and robust than currently used nickel-based catalysts. They also found a reason for this enhanced performance. Measurements at BESSY II showed that the clathrates undergo structural changes during the catalytic reaction: the three-dimensional cage structure decays into ultra-thin nanosheets that allow maximum contact with active catalytic centres. The study has been published in the journal ‘Angewandte Chemie’.
- An elegant method for the detection of single spins using photovoltageDiamonds with certain optically active defects can be used as highly sensitive sensors or qubits for quantum computers, where the quantum information is stored in the electron spin state of these colour centres. However, the spin states have to be read out optically, which is often experimentally complex. Now, a team at HZB has developed an elegant method using a photo voltage to detect the individual and local spin states of these defects. This could lead to a much more compact design of quantum sensors.