Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Chemistry awarded $594,094 to the University of New Hampshire (awarded August 1, 2026; completion July 31, 2029) under the Mathematical and Physical Sciences program (CFDA 47.049) to support research on extending charge carrier lifetimes in photocatalytic systems. Professor Christine Caputo's research team will engineer structural variants of carbon nitride, a visible-light-harvesting semiconducting polymer, by introducing synthetic functionalization with boryl groups and secondary bipyridyl binding sites. The project aims to dramatically extend charge carrier lifetimes and bridge the critical spatio-temporal gap between ultrafast light-driven charge separation (femtoseconds to nanoseconds) and slower catalytic turnover (seconds), thereby improving photocatalytic efficiency for fuel generation and advanced chemical manufacturing applications.

Beyond the core research deliverables, the award includes a public engagement component through the Seacoast Science Interpreter Program (Sips) of Science and an annual Energy Discovery Day for K-12 students at the University of New Hampshire. These outreach activities are designed to advance science literacy and build community understanding of the real-world applications of photocatalytic research. The project will develop a mechanistic framework for understanding how molecular-level design decisions govern photocatalytic activity in two-dimensional materials, with findings applicable to sustainable energy and chemical synthesis technologies.