The Department of Chemistry is proud to announce that the Gas-phase Heterogeneous Catalysis for Solar Fuels Research team, headed by Professor Geoffrey Ozin, has been named winner of one of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Horizon Prizes, which celebrate discoveries and innovations that push the boundaries of science.
The team, which is also known as the University of Toronto Solar Fuels Cluster and includes numerous Chemistry community members including Prof. Alán Aspuru-Guzik, postdoctoral fellow Dr. Athanasios (Athan) Tountas and alumnus Dr. Wei Sun of Zhejiang University, has won the Environment, Sustainability and Energy Horizon Prize for defining a chemical approach to nanomaterials leading to efficient gas-phase heterogeneous CO₂ photocatalysis.
According to the RSC site, the Horizon Prizes highlight “exciting, contemporary chemical science at the cutting edge of research and innovation.” The prizes are awarded to groups, teams and collaborations, in other words, who open new directions in their field through ground-breaking scientific developments.
In an interview with RSC, Ozin spoke of finding inspiration in the joy of discovery and being motivated to make the world a better place for all life on earth. “Scientifically speaking, the research of the Solar Fuels Cluster is driven by a commitment to combat climate change through innovative chemistry. The work focuses on developing energy and cost-effective technologies that convert carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into valuable chemicals and fuels using solar energy. This approach aims to create a zero-emission CO₂ economy by harnessing sunlight for chemical transformations.”
“A key motivation for the team is the desire to close the carbon cycle by transforming waste CO₂ into useful products, thereby reducing atmospheric greenhouse gases.”
The team's interdisciplinary approach, combining theoretical and experimental chemistry, materials science and engineering, reflects their dedication to addressing the global challenge of climate change through science-to-technology, ideas-to-innovation, ideally transforming laboratory breakthroughs-to-industrial processes.
“The team’s international collaboration model and diversity have empowered us to drive impactful work globally,” said Professor Wei Sun. "I’ve been privileged to participate in and witness the inception and growth of the Solar Fuels Cluster.”
Ozin agreed. "A brilliant team of national and international collaborators made our successes possible together with the generous support of NSERC, CRC, MRIS, the University of Toronto and Greg Vezina--CEO of Hydrofuel Canada Inc."
A recent example of the group’s work in this space is a paper in Nature Catalysis, which describes a process combining nanotechnology with solar-driven catalysis. The technique is for upcycling polyolefins — a family of polymers used in making products like plastic bags and films, as well as bottles, piping, and disposable medical equipment.
Ozin urged young chemists to embrace change and flexibility, building a strong foundation in core chemistry while also gaining skills in data science, coding, and digital tools. "Chemistry now intersects more than ever with computer science, engineering, and materials science.”
As the multi-disciplinary approach becomes ever more important, Ozin said, collaboration, critical thinking, and ethical awareness will remain vital.
“Most importantly, don’t lose sight of the impact – focus on solving real-world problems,” he said. "The tools may change, but the mission remains: to innovate for a better world.”
The full list of Solar Fuels Cluster team members is below.
Solar Fuels Cluster
Feysal M. Ali, Research Associate, University of Regina/University of Toronto
Alán 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 México (IBERO)/University of Toronto
Zaiyong Jiang, Professor, Weifang University/University of Toronto
Kulbir Kaur Ghuman, Associate Professor, Université du Québec/University of Toronto
Nazir P. Kherani, Professor, University of Toronto
Joel Loh, Lecturer, The 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
Rui Song, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Toronto
Aldo Steinfeld, Professor, ETH Zurich
Wei Sun, Professor, Zhejiang University/University of Toronto
Sanli Tang, Assistant Researcher, Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences/University of Toronto
Alexandra Tavasoli, Assistant Professor, University of British Columbia/University of Toronto
Athanasios (Athan) Tountas, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Toronto
Ulrich Ulmer, Professor, Technische Hochschule Nürnberg/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, The 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