About

To encourage and support interdisciplinary research, our department has many options for graduate students (as well as undergraduate and post-doctoral scholars) wishing to pursue research in energy and sustainability. Possible energy and sustainability solutions are found in each of our six subareas of study (analytical, chemical biology, inorganic, organic, physical, and chemical physics). Projects are often collaborative, involving multiple research groups, possibly outside of chemistry as well. This research involves molecular-level understanding of reaction mechanisms and spectroscopic responses using fundamental chemical insights and such deep insights enable hypothesis-driven advances critical for action in sustainability and climate-driven problems. Training in this area leads to productive careers in academia, industry, start-up companies, in government and policy-making, amongst others.

Diversification of the energy supply is one area of active research goal in energy and sustainability research. For example, photocatalysts are being developed for solar fuels, which are created using abundant starting materials (e.g., water, CO2) and solar energy. Another portable renewable energy source, biofuels, is also being targeted; they are converted from plant matter. Other teams investigate stationary energy-storage methods such as hydrogen storage in small main-group molecules, and redox-flow batteries which enable solar energy to be stored and saved for cloudy days and other times that solar energy supply cannot meet the energy demand. For those interested in analytical techniques and physical chemistry, we have teams that develop advanced spectroscopies to examine the environmental effects of new materials.

Research projects and collaborations evolve, so this is a snapshot of our activities in energy and sustainability at the time of writing. Our teams are always starting new projects. If you are interested in pursuing research in energy and sustainability, review our website and contact the faculty directly if you have any questions.

Campus resources for interdisciplinary energy and sustainability research can be found here.
Individual research projects can be found across the faculty.

The Department of Chemistry at UC Davis houses multiple collaborative research efforts that provide additional, formal infrastructure for collaboration and student training. Some examples can be found here:

  • NSF: Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program

  • NSF: Research Experiences for Undergraduates program
    A training grant which brings undergraduates to the UC Davis campus each summer for experiences working in research groups at the forefront of energy and sustainability research. This program is funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation.

  • UC Laboratory Fees Program: Center for Direct Conversion of Captured CO2

  • UC Laboratory Fees Program: Center for Direct Conversion of Captured CO2
    A multi-campus University of California research center focused on electrochemical conversion of captured carbon dioxide (CO2) to mitigate atmospheric CO2 levels, which is the most common greenhouse gas produced by human activity. Funded by the UC Office of the President, the Center’s collaborative team includes chemists and chemical engineers at a total of seven UC campuses (Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, and Santa Barbara) and two national labs (Lawrence Berkeley and Lawrence Livermore National Labs).

  • DOE ARPAe: Hybrid Bio-electrochemical approaches for CO2 conversion to fuels and chemicals

  • DOE ARPAe: Hybrid Bio-electrochemical approaches for CO2 conversion to fuels and chemicals 
    A team of academic and industry researchers is developing biochemical approaches to capture CO2 where some of the energy in the form of formate is derived from electrochemical reduction of CO2. This project is funded by the Department of Energy.

  • DOE EFRC Center for Closing the Carbon Cycle

  • DOE EFRC Center for Closing the Carbon Cycle
    Two UC Davis chemistry professors are part of a new multicampus center aimed at developing basic science for converting carbon dioxide into fuels and chemicals.