Issue 13, 2024

Pattern-illumination time-resolved phase microscopy and its applications for photocatalytic and photovoltaic materials

Abstract

Pattern-illumination time-resolved phase microscopy (PI-PM) is a technique used to study the microscopic charge carrier dynamics in photocatalytic and photovoltaic materials. The method involves illuminating a sample with a pump light pattern, which generates charge carriers and they decay subsequently due to trapping, recombination, and transfer processes. The distribution of photo-excited charge carriers is observed through refractive index changes using phase-contrast imaging. In the PI-PM method, the sensitivity of the refractive index change is enhanced by adjusting the focus position, the method takes advantage of photo-excited charge carriers to observe non-radiative processes, such as charge diffusion, trapping in defect/surface states, and interfacial charge transfer of photocatalytic and photovoltaic reactions. The quality of the image sequence is recovered using various informatics calculations. Categorizing and mapping different types of charge carriers based on their response profiles using clustering analysis provides spatial information on charge carrier types and the identification of local sites for efficient and inefficient photo-induced reactions, providing valuable information for the design and optimization of photocatalytic materials such as the cocatalyst effect.

Graphical abstract: Pattern-illumination time-resolved phase microscopy and its applications for photocatalytic and photovoltaic materials

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
21 dec 2023
Accepted
14 feb 2024
First published
24 feb 2024

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2024,26, 9783-9815

Pattern-illumination time-resolved phase microscopy and its applications for photocatalytic and photovoltaic materials

K. Katayama, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2024, 26, 9783 DOI: 10.1039/D3CP06211B

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements