Surface Aspects of Semiconductor Photochemistry

Dear Colleagues,

The study of photochemical systems that use sunlight to catalyze chemical reactions of relevance for the environment remediation or for concentrating solar energy into renewable fuels (the well-known solar fuels) is a key topic for granting sustainability. While photon absorption and hole/electron separation and diffusion are not surface phenomena, the final steps of the complete process (i.e., the reactive events) are played at surfaces and ruled by them. 

So, an approach to a rational design of semiconductor photocatalysts cannot give up the assistance of surface science based tools and methods. They can provide both a deep and direct probing of the reaction sites, and, adopting time-resolved tools, provide dynamical details of reactions at the surfaces.  Such information is of value for the optimization of several strategic processes, e.g., water splitting, CO₂ reduction and artificial photosynthesis.

This Special Issue is dedicated to the 7th International Conference on Semiconductor Photochemistry (SP7), https://www.sp7.unimi.it/. The aim of this Special Issue is to offer an open-access forum where researchers in the field of surface science, photochemistry, photophysics, photocatalysis, materials science can highlight significant advances made possible by the application of the surface science approach to heterogeneous photochemistry. In this Special Issue, papers addressing both basic science and more applied topics in the fields of photochemistry, photocatalysis, energy conversion, laser/surface interactions and laser ablation are welcome.

Prof. Elena Selli
Dr. Maria Vittoria Dozzi
Guest Editors

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