Gaining Composition and Structural Insight via Neutron Reflectivity into Novel Light-Harvesting Functional Air-water Interfacial Layers

Conversion of carbon dioxide into chemicals using sunlight is an exciting approach to replace fossil-based materials as high energy density fuels and for chemicals production. We can report that self-assembling amphiphilic molecules can be used to build a photocatalytic Langmuir layer system at the air-water interface that is able to convert carbon dioxide into fuel using sunlight. In this experiment, we aim to extract important information about our system, particularly the composition and layer structure of the light-harvesting molecules, and the non-ionic surfactant that seems to be key to their function. An in-depth understanding of how the system works is key to drive improvements.