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This account reviews our recent research activities in the field of CO2 reduction. We discuss here the potential of the bio-inspired approach for the design of electrocatalytic systems for small molecule transformation. Exploiting the billion years of evolution of natural systems, we illustrate the potential of bio-inspired strategies across multiple scales to design catalytic systems. We demonstrate in particular how the shape of biological systems as well as enzymatic active sites and their environment can constitute effective sources of inspiration for the design of electrocatalysts with improved performances.

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Strategies to convert energy from the sun into chemical fuels and feedstocks for a carbon-neutral economy are under rapid development. A photoelectrochemical route uses a direct semiconductor–liquid junction that offers simplicity but places challenging constraints on the materials used. The LIMNO lab has made significant progress in demonstrating new viable classes of materials, defining new methods to control the nanostructure of photoelectrodes to enhance charge extraction, and to engineer the electrode interfaces to reduce losses in photoelectrodes. These techniques contribute to a toolset which will enable inexpensively processed, robust semiconductor materials to obtain high performance solar to fuel conversion. Herein the major advances and achievements of LIMNO toward this goal are highlighted within the context of the current state of the art and the future prospects for the field.

This account reviews our recent research activities and achievements in the field of two-dimensional (2D) materials surface chemistry. 2D materials are atomically thin, so that carriers are less-restricted to move in the in-plane direction, whereas the out-of-plain motion is quantum-confined. Semiconductor quantum wells and graphene are two well-known examples. Applications of 2D materials in optoelectronics, surface modification, and complex materials must overcome engineering challenges associated with understanding and engineering surface chemistry of 2D materials, which essentially bridge multiscale physical phenomena. In my research group, we understand and engineer broad aspects of chemistry and physics at nanomaterials surfaces for advancing nanomaterials-based technologies. The three main topics covered in this account are as follows: i) colloidal synthesis of stacking-controlled 2D materials, ii) wetting properties of 2D materials, and iii) engineering electronic transport at 2D materials–semiconductor interfaces.