Invited seminar
Author: Associate Prof. Menny Shalom
Affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
When: Thursday, March 20, 2025 - 11:00 to 13:00
Where: Salón de Actos del Edificio de Investigación II
Abstract: 

Developing efficient, stable, and cost-effective catalytic systems for renewable energy conversion and storage represents one of today's critical scientific challenges. In our research, we try to address these challenges through new approaches to photocatalysis, photoelectrochemical and electro- chemical systems. The first part of this talk presents new approaches for growing polymeric carbon nitride (CN) layers on conductive substrates for photoelectrochemical applications. We demonstrate CN-based photoanodes as stable, efficient platforms for converting organic molecules into value-added chemicals while simultaneously producing hydrogen. In addition, I will show the use of CN-films as highly stable photocatalytic panels for various catalytic reactions.
The second part will focus on the rational synthesis of transition metals and their composites for various electro-oxidation and reduction reactions, including oxidative upgrading of organic molecules and hydrogen peroxide synthesis. I will present our recent work in zinc-air batteries, peroxide-based electrolyzers, and alkaline water electrolyzers

Biography: 
Menny received his BSc in Chemistry in 2007 from Bar-Ilan University. Afterward, he pursued MSc and Ph.D. degrees under Prof. Arie Zaban at Bar-Ilan University, researching quantum dot-sensitized solar cells. He then joined Prof. Markus Antonietti at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces (MPI), Germany, as a Minerva fellowship fellow for his postdoc. From 2013 to 2016, he was appointed a group leader in MPI. At the end of 2016, he was appointed as an Associate Professor at the Ben‐Gurion University of the Negev, Israel. Since 2019, he has been a Full Professor. His group focuses on synthesizing new materials for energy conversion applications, mainly photoelectrochemical cells and electrocatalysts. Menny's group has published more than 80 papers in well-known journals. Menny's research focuses on essential and fundamental scientific topics, ranging from new synthetic methodologies for 2D metal-free materials, sustainable solar-to-fuel conversion, and the development of new materials and concepts for clean fuel production (e.g., hydrogen) by using photoelectrochemical cells (PEC) and electrocatalysts. The emphasis of the group's research is on understanding the structure-property relationships of novel materials. Namely, the rational design of synthetic processes, investigation of reaction mechanisms, and studying the resulting properties of metal-free materials, which contain only carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and boron—CNXs (X = P, S, or B)—for photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical reactions on the one hand, and ceramics based on transition metals as electrocatalysts or co-catalysts in PECs on the other hand.