Hosted by the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Tianjin University of Technology, the Tianjin Key Laboratory of Organic Solar Cells and Photochemical Conversion is one of the key basic research laboratories supported by the Tianjin Municipal Science and Technology Bureau. Established in 2013, the laboratory is oriented toward meeting major national and municipal needs in energy and the environment. Grounded in photo-chemistry and photophysics and driven by the goal of advancing solar energy and photo-functional materials, it conducts research on solar photovoltaic conversion as well as the study and application of photochemical conversion and functional materials.
Dedicated to the clean and efficient conversion and utilization of renewable energy, the laboratory centers on solar energy and photochemical conversion processes and draws upon interdisciplinary strengths in energy science, chemistry, materials, and environmental studies. Through years of sustained effort, it has established four primary researchareas:
1.Solar Photovoltaic Conversion
Designing and developing novel organic (polymer) thin-film and perovskite solar cells to continuously improve photoelectric conversion efficiency, reduce production costs, and advance clean energy technologies; synthesizing and fabricating materials for new-generation solar cells, with a particular focus on dye-sensitized nano-TiO₂ solar cells.
2.Photo/electro-chemical Conversion for Low-Carbon Energy
Developing technologies such as solar-driven photochemical water splittingforhydrogenproduction, and catalytictransformationof biomass and organic feedstocksinto functional chemicals and syngas, therebyconvertingsolar energy into energy carriers or high-value fine chemicals. The laboratory also pursues photo/electrocatalytic CO₂ conversion to synthesize fuels such as methanol and organic esters, enabling the transformation of greenhouse gases into low-carbon energy and chemical feedstocks.
3.Photochemical Sensing and Imaging
Designing photo-functional organic compounds and employing fluorescent probes and nano-imaging techniques todevelopnovel photochemical and biosensing technologies, as well as fluorescence imagingtools for the life sciences.
4.Efficient Biomass Conversion
Investigating catalyticconversionofcellulose and lignin into furan-based chemicals and phenols; upgrading monosaccharides and furan-based bioplatform molecules into high-valuechemical products; developing high-temperature catalytic pyrolysis technologies for co-processing biomass feedstocks with methaneforaviation kerosenesynthesis; and designing polymer materials for clean-energy separation technologies, including methane purification and CO₂ enrichment.
The laboratory currently comprises 47 permanent staff members, including 21 professors and 26 associate professorsand lecturers. Among them, 11 hold national or municipal academic honors, such as Distinguished Professor appointed by the Ministry of Education, recipients of the National Science Fund for Excellent Young Scholars, members of the Thousand and Ten Thousand Talent Project, and Tianjin Distinguished Professors. Over the past three years, the laboratory has received a total research funding of 34.7 million RMB, undertaken 30 national research projectsand won two provincial/ministerial science and technology awards. A total of 216 SCI papers have been published in prestigious journals includingAdvanced Energy Materials,Angewandte Chemie International Edition, andAdvanced Functional Materials, among which 78 are Q1 journal articles. The laboratory is committed to the high-quality cultivation of talent and places strong emphasis on the ideological and political education of students.
Driven by fundamental theory and key technology research on high-efficiency solar energy conversion, the laboratory addresses scientific and technological challenges in areas such as organic photovoltaics, photocatalytic hydrogen production, photocatalytic CO₂ reduction to methanol, supramolecular photochemical sensing and imaging, and biomass energy conversion. Through these efforts, the laboratory aims to contribute to the development and utilization of solar energy as a clean resource, strengthen Tianjin’s innovation capacity in photochemical conversion technologies and its competitiveness and influence in relevant global industries, and support the growth of Tianjin’s solar energy sector and the production of high-quality chemical products. As a platform for high-level talent cultivation, the laboratory provides young faculty and graduate students with an excellent environment in which to grow professionally and showcase their abilities, nurturing a cohort of young researchers equipped with nationally competitive expertise.
Address:School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology
Tel:+86 13820899232,Professor. Tong
Email:tongxinli@tju.edu.cn
