New methods to develop nanostructured and uniform coatings for catalytic applications

Developing novel methods for deposition of uniform nanostructured coatings present a notable challenge. This presentation describe several strategies of forming such coatings, which are based on collaborative efforts with Brookhaven National Lab and Air Force Lab. The fabrication is achieved inside ultralow temperature, superfluid helium nanodroplets, which can be subsequently deposited onto any substrate. This technique is universal enough to be applied to nearly any element, while achieving high deposition rates for single element as well as composite core–shell NPs. The very first catalytic applications of such coatings will be demonstrated in this presentation. In addition, we also demonstrate several aspects of utilizing Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) to produce catalytically active surfaces, which can be used for energy production. The role of non-uniform doping of epitaxially grown strontium titanate thin film electrodes on their photoelectrochemical performance in water splitting is discussed in the second part of this presentation.