Michael Grätzel, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, has been awarded the August Wilhelm von Hofmann Medal by the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (GDCh, German Chemical Society). The award was presented at the 7th EuCheMS Chemistry Congress in Liverpool, UK, on August 30, 2018.
The August Wilhelm von Hofmann Medal is awarded every two years and honors outstanding achievements in chemistry, in particular by scientists working outside of Germany. Michael Grätzel is honored for his pioneering work on low-cost dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), or Grätzel cells. His research interests include photovoltaics, photocatalysis, lithium-ion batteries, and molecular switches.
Michael Grätzel studied chemistry at the Free University Berlin, Germany, and received his Ph.D. from the Technical University of Berlin in 1971. From 1972 to 1974, he was a Petroleum Research Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Notre Dame, IN, USA. He then returned to Germany and became a Researcher at the Hahn-Meitner Institute, Berlin. In 1975, he became Lecturer for Photochemistry and Physical Chemistry at the Free University Berlin, where he completed his habilitation the following year. In 1977, Grätzel was appointed Associate Professor for Physical Chemistry at EPFL. He was promoted to Full Professor and Director of the Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces in 1981 and has remained at EPFL until today.
Among many other honors, Grätzel has received the Eric and Sheila Samson Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation in Alternative Fuels for Transportation in 2014, the Marcel Benoist Prize from the Marcel Benoist Foundation, Switzerland, in 2013, and the Millennium Technology Prize from the Technology Academy Finland in 2010, as well as several honorary doctorates.
Selected Publications
- Charge carrier chemistry in methylammonium lead iodide,
Alessandro Senocrate, Tae-Youl Yang, Giuliano Gregori, Gee Yeong Kim, Michael Grätzel, Joachim Maier,
Solid State Ionics 2018, 321, 69–74.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssi.2018.03.029 - Adamantanes Enhance the Photovoltaic Performance and Operational Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells by Effective Mitigation of Interfacial Defect States,
Mohammad Mahdi Tavakoli, Dongqin Bi, Linfeng Pan, Anders Hagfeldt, Shaik Mohammed Zakeeruddin, Michael Grätzel,
Adv. Energy Mater. 2018, 8, 1800275.
https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.201800275 - Elucidation of Charge Recombination and Accumulation Mechanism in Mixed Perovskite Solar Cells,
Pankaj Yadav, Silver-Hamill Turren-Cruz, Daniel Prochowicz, Mohammad Mahdi Tavakoli, Kavita Pandey, Shaik M. Zakeeruddin, Michael Grätzel, Anders Hagfeldt, Michael Saliba,
J. Phys. Chem. C 2018, 122, 15149–15154.
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.8b03948 - Solar Water Splitting: Progress Using Hematite (α-Fe2O3) Photoelectrodes,
Kevin Sivula, Florian Le Formal, Michael Grätzel,
ChemSusChem 2011, 4, 432–449.
https://doi.org/10.1002/cssc.201000416 - Highly Efficient Mesoscopic Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Based on Donor-Acceptor-Substituted Porphyrins,
Takeru Bessho, Shaik M. Zakeeruddin, Chen-Yu Yeh, Eric Wei-Guang Diau, Michael Grätzel,
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2010, 49, 6646–6649.
https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201002118 - Light-Induced Water Splitting with Hematite: Improved Nanostructure and Iridium Oxide Catalysis,
S. David Tilley, Maurin Cornuz, Kevin Sivula, Michael Grätzel,
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2010, 49, 6405–6408.
https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201003110 - Photoelectrochemical cells,
Michael Grätzel,
Nature 2001, 414, 338–344.
https://doi.org/10.1038/35104607 - Conversion of light to electricity by cis-X2bis(2,2′-bipyridyl-4,4′-dicarboxylate)ruthenium(II) charge-transfer sensitizers (X = Cl–, Br–, I–, CN–, and SCN–) on nanocrystalline titanium dioxide electrodes,
M. K. Nazeeruddin, A. Kay, I. Rodicio, R. Humphry-Baker, E. Mueller, P. Liska, N. Vlachopoulos, M. Graetzel,
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1993, 115, 6382–6390.
https://doi.org/10.1021/ja00067a063 - A low-cost, high-efficiency solar cell based on dye-sensitized colloidal TiO2 films,
Brian O’Regan, Michael Grätzel,
Nature 1991, 353, 737–740.
https://doi.org/10.1038/353737a0
Also of Interest
- 125th Anniversary: Death of August Wilhelm von Hofmann,
ChemViews Mag. 2017.
Eminent organic chemist and first President of the German Chemical Society - August Wilhelm von Hofmann Medal for Ben Feringa,
ChemViews Mag. 2016.
Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (GDCh, German Chemical Society) honors outstanding achievements in chemistry - August Wilhelm von Hofmann Medal 2014,
ChemViews Mag. 2014.
Professor Barry M. Trost, Stanford University, USA, is this year’s laureate - S. Shaik and M. Quack Receive August Wilhelm von Hofmann Gold Medal,
ChemViews Mag. 2012.
Sason Shaik, Israel, and Martin Quack, Switzerland, are awarded the August Wilhelm von Hofmann Gold Medal of the GDCh - Michael Grätzel Wins €800,000,
ChemViews Mag. 2010.
Professor Michael Grätzel was awarded the world’s largest technology prize for cheap solar cells
