Licheng Sun, Professor of Molecular Devices at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden, has been awarded the Arrhenius Medal 2014 by the Swedish Chemical Society (Svenska Kemistsamfundet, SK). The award was presented in conjunction with a prize lecture entitled “Artificial Photosynthesis – From Molecules to Functional Devices” at Stockholm University on November 3, 2014.
The prize is awarded annually to individuals who have distinguished themselves through outstanding scientific research in chemistry and its neighbouring areas or who have performed valuable services to the SK.
Licheng Sun studied chemical engineering at Dalian University of Technology, China, where he received his PhD in 1990 under the supervision of Jingzong Yang. He then worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China, at the Max Planck Institute for Radiation Chemistry (now Max Planck Institute for Bioinorganic Chemistry), Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany, and at the Free University of Berlin, Germany as well as at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden. Sun was appointed assistant professor in the chemistry department of KTH in 1997. After subsequent appointments as assistant and associate professor at Stockholm University, also Sweden, he returned to KTH as full professor for Molecular Devices in 2004.
Sun’s research focuses on artificial photosynthesis, particularly catalytic water oxidation and hydrogen production with molecular catalysts inspired by the natural photosystem II and hydrogenases as well as Grätzel-type solar cells with cheap molecular components such as organic dyes, perovskites and iodine-free electrolytes.
Selected Publications:
- The influence of a S-to-S bridge in diiron dithiolate models on the oxidation reaction: a mimic of the Hairox state of [FeFe]-hydrogenases,
Dehua Zheng, Mei Wang, Lin Chen, Ning Wang, Minglun Cheng, Licheng Sun,
Chem. Commun. 2014, 50, 9255–9258.
DOI: 10.1039/c4cc03583f - Synthesis, electrochemistry and photo-induced electron transfer of unsymmetrical dinuclear ruthenium osmium 2,2′-bipyridine complexes,
Narumon Boonyavong, Potjanart Suwanruji, Supa Hannongbua, Fei Li, Licheng Sun, Thitinun M. Karpkird,
J. Photochem. Photobiol., A 2014, 287, 40–48.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jphotochem.2014.04.020 - Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells,
Anders Hagfeldt, Gerrit Boschloo, Licheng Sun, Lars Kloo, Henrik Pettersson,
Chem. Rev. 2010, 110, 6595–6663.
DOI: 10.1021/cr900356p - A novel organic chromophore for dye-sensitized nanostructured solar cells,
Daniel P. Hagberg, Tomas Edvinsson, Tannia Marinado, Gerrit Boschloo, Anders Hagfeldt, Licheng Sun,
Chem. Commun. 2006, 2245-2247.
DOI: 10.1039/b603002e - Molecular Engineering of Organic Sensitizers for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Applications,
Daniel P. Hagberg, Jun-Ho Yum, HyoJoong Lee, Filippo De Angelis, Tannia Marinado, Karl Martin Karlsson, Robin Humphry-Baker, Licheng Sun, Anders Hagfeldt, Michael Grätzel, Md. K. Nazeeruddin,
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2008, 130, 6259–6266.
DOI: 10.1021/ja800066y
