Goals – The Photovoltaics/Solar Fuels Lab at the Conn Center is primarily able to assist researchers in photo-driven and/or electrochemical studies. The facility includes supplies and cells for electrochemical experiments, as well as the instruments for electrochemical characterization. Gaseous product quantification is also possible through the use of gas chromatography and/or electrochemical mass spectrometry. Light sources are available for illumination based research, including the characterization of material optical properties and performance as a function of wavelength.

Design – The group is capable of assisting researchers in the design of photoelectrochemical measurements, including choice of cell, electrolyte, and electrode materials, as well as product quantification. 

Instrumentation – The Photovoltaics/Solar Fuels facility has: potentiostats for electrochemical research (including electrochemical impedance spectroscopy), a rotating disk electrode setup for measurements free of mass transport limitations, a gas chromatograph for gaseous product quantification, a differential electrochemical mass spectrometer (DEMS) for chemical species quantification as a function of applied bias in an electrochemical cell, a Xe arc lamp system for AM 1.5 solar simulated illumination, and a spectral response system for the measurement of incident-photon-to-current-efficiency (IPCE) as a function of wavelength.