Light Matter Interactions in Energy Materials

Kick Group

In our group we are interested in the theoretical description of light-matter interactions with a particular focus on energy materials.

A detailed understanding of such interactions would allow us to design novel energy materials with superior properties. In particular, we are interested in materials which can combine both light-harvesting and energy storage properties in one single device. This would make solar cells obsolete and would directly result in very simple systems which could be a key component in the pursuit of micro to nano devices. For example, envision nano batteries which can be charged directly by sunlight, without external solar cells, or artificial mitochondria which harness and store solar energy to perform complex catalytic reactions autonomously day and night.

To pursuit this goal, we make use of state-of-the-art electronic structure methods and develop new methods (https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.06929) where current methods reach their limit. We use both existing and novel electronic structure methods to examine prototypical compounds, allowing us to develop an atomistic understanding of all relevant processes associated with light-matter interaction.