Title:Organic Nanoparticles for Photocatalysis

Speaker: Prof.Haining Tian

Time: 10:00 AM, April 10,2026 

Venue: W301 Meeting Room, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices (North Campus)

Abstract

In recent years, organic photocatalysts have garnered considerable attention from scientists owing to their cost-effectiveness, adjustable bandgaps and energy levels, and promising performance in photocatalysis. Transforming traditional hydrophobic polymeric and molecular photocatalysts into nanoparticles has demonstrated significantly enhanced photocatalytic activity. Employing a rational design approach to organic polymers and molecules stands as one of the strategies aimed at augmenting the photocatalytic efficiency for hydrogen production and CO2 reduction. How to enhance light harvesting and create efficiency charge separation and long-live charge separated state within the nanoparticle are always challenging to reach satisfactory photocatalytic efficiency. I will delve into our research accomplishments, which include optimizing polymer/molecule structures for photocatalysis, understanding the working mechanism, exploring particle morphologies, and investigating the applications of organic nanoparticles in bio-hybrid photocatalytic systems.

Relevant publications:

[1] Wang L., et al., Angew. Chem., 2016, 128 (40), 12494-12498

[2] Pati P., et al., Energy Environ. Sci., 2017 10 (6), 1372-1376

[3] Liu A., et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2021, 143 (7), 2875-2885

[4] Pavliuk M., et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2022, 144(30) 13600–13611

[5] Wang S., et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2022, 61(23), e202202733

[6] Bin C., et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2023, 62 (45), e202312276

[7] Wang S., et al., Nat. Comm., 2024, 15, 6765 

[8] Bin C., et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145, 34, 18687–18692

[9] Bin C., et al., Nat. Chem., 2026, DOI: 10.1038/s41557-025-02035-z

Speaker Biography

Dr.Haining Tian is a Professor at Uppsala University, Sweden, leading a research group of Molecular Devices for Artificial Photosynthesis. He obtained his PhD in Applied Chemistry at Dalian University of Technology (DUT) in 2009 under supervision from Prof. Licheng Sun and Prof. Xichuan Yang and then moved to Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) as Postdoc and senior researcher. He was in Prof. Juan Bisquert’s group in Universitat Jaume I as a short-term visiting researcher in 2013. In 2014, he started his independent research career at Uppsala University. He has been awarded Göran Gustafsson Prize for young researchers (2016 small and 2020 large), Young Investigator from European Photochemistry Association (2019) and Wallenberg Academy Fellow (2019, 2024 prolongation). His research interests focus on development and investigation of sustainable soft materials including molecules and polymers for solar energy conversion and storage. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers and edited a book <Molecular Devices for Solar Energy Conversion and Storage>.