Mel Soto – UF CUR

Student NameMel Soto

Faculty Mentor NameWei David, Wei, PhD

CollegeCollege of Liberal Arts and Sciences

MajorChemistry

MinorN/A

Research InterestsPhysical Chemistry, Green Chemistry, Photochemistry

Academic AwardsACS Scholars 2018-2022, University Scholars Program 2020

OrganizationsQueer Cultivation Program (Vice President)

Hobbies and InterestsDrawing, Painting, Piano,

Research Project

Studying the Catalytic Activity in Plasmonic Nanoparticle-Molecule Systems for CO2 Reduction?

The purpose of this research is to create photoelectrochemical system for catalyzing CO2 reduction to CH4. A novel photocathode will be created via the molecular-metal interaction between gold nanoparticles, which absorb light and produce hot electron-hole pairs, and a layer of porphyrin molecules, which trap hot electrons and serve as the catalytic center.