To tackle climate change, we need to phase out fossil fuels and replace them with carbon-free energy sources. The current challenges associated with the storage and transfer of solar power could be addressed by using sunlight to extract hydrogen from water, because hydrogen gas can be stored in regular gas containers. Arto Hiltunen will defend his doctoral dissertation at Tampere University of 15 May 2020. His dissertation explores materials that are capable of producing hydrogen fuel from water with the help of light.
“Researchers are racing to develop renewable energy solutions to displace fossil fuels and help mitigate climate change,” Arto Hiltunen says.
Hiltunen employed the atomic layer deposition (ALD) technology, recognised by the 2018 Millennium Technology Prize, to fabricate nanometre-scale semiconductor coatings. Hiltunen coated nanocellulose-based aerogels using ALD to fabricate porous semiconductor devices suited for photocatalytic hydrogen production.
“Being porous, the structure absorbs water like a sponge. Porosity increases the active surface area of the semiconductor device and thereby increases its efficiency,” Hiltunen points out.
It is important to use ecological materials when developing clean energy solutions. Bio-based cellulose materials meet these requirements.
“Solar cell and hydrogen technologies have already achieved high levels of efficiency and sophistication. I hope more and more people start looking into renewable energy solutions as an alternative to fossil fuels,” Hiltunen says.
Arto Hiltunen was born in Turku, Finland, but has lived in Tampere for close to 15 years. He majored in electrical engineering and received his master’s degree in technology from Tampere University of Technology in 2013. Hiltunen continues his research on solar cells at Tampere University.
The doctoral dissertation of MSc (Tech) Arto Hiltunen in the field of chemistry titled Photovoltaic Applications of Porous Atomic Layer Deposited Metal Oxides from Cellulose Templates will be publicly examined in the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences at Tampere University at 12 noon on Friday 15 May 2020. The opponent will be Professor Kati Miettunen from the University of Turku. The Custos will be Professor Nikolai Tkachenko.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, doctoral defences are conducted online at Tampere University. The audience can attend the doctoral defence remotely through Teams.
The dissertation is available online at http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-03-1574-0.
Photo: Suvi Holmstedt