About
Nocera is recognized for his wide-ranging contributions to renewable energy, originating new paradigms that have defined the field of solar energy conversion and storage. He created the field of proton coupled electron transfer (PCET) by making the first measurements that temporally resolved the movement of an electron coupled to a proton. On this experimental foundation, he contributed to the first theory of PCET. With PCET as a guiding framework, he invented the Artificial Leaf, the first wireless water splitting device, and the Bionic Leaf, which takes only air, water and sunlight as its only inputs to make fuels and renewable fertilizer. The Bionic Leaf-C exceeds the biomass efficiencies of natural photosynthesis by a factor of ×10 and biomass-to-fuels efficiencies by a factor of ×100. As a replacement for chemical fertilizer, the Bionic-Leaf N mitigates 100’s of metric tons of CO2e. His companies, SunCatalytix (flow battery) and Kula Bio (biofertlizer), have both been commercial successes.
Awards
- Member, American Philosophical Society, 2021
- Breakthrough Technology Award, World Economic Forum, 2017
- Foreign Member, Indian Academy of Sciences, 2013
- Member, National Academy of Sciences, 2009
- Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2005
Relevant Publications
- Nocera, D. G. (2022) Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer: The Engine of Energy Conversion and Storage. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 144(3), 1069–1081. DOI: 10.1021/jacs.1c10444
- Liu, C., Colon, B. C., Ziesack, M., Silver, P. A. & Nocera, D. G. (2016) Water Splitting-Biosynthetic System with CO2 Reduction Efficiencies Exceeding Photosynthesis. Science, 352 (6290), 1210–1213. DOI: 10.1126/science.aaf5039
- Reece, S. Y., Hamel, J. A., Sung, K., Jarvi, T. D., Esswein, A. J., Pijpers, J. J. H. & Nocera, D. G. (2011) Wireless Solar Water Splitting using Silicon–Based Semiconductors and Earth Abundant Catalysts. Science, 334 (6056), 645–648. DOI: 10.1126/science.1209816