Chemist Prof. Ferdi Karadas from Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey, has received one of the coveted Georg Forster Research Awards and will investigate surface structures for photocatalytic applications during his 12-month research stay at Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (Leibniz IPHT). The prestigious award of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation is given to excellent international researchers for their outstanding scientific achievements.
 
Prof. Ferdi Karadas leads a research group at the Department of Chemistry at Bilkent University in Ankara and conducts research on inorganic as well as organometallic compounds for photocatalytic applications, such as water reduction, water oxidation, and CO2 reduction.
 
During his research stay at Leibniz IPHT in Jena, Germany, the longstanding scientific exchange with the Functional Interfaces Department, which also deals with material chemistry issues, will be intensified. Together with the scientists at Leibniz IPHT, Prof. Ferdi Karadas will investigate the interface between a semiconductor surface and cobalt-iron inorganic layers to shed light on photocatalytic processes including photocatalytic water splitting, i.e. the generation of hydrogen and oxygen. Spectroscopic methods as well as photoelectrochemical studies will contribute to a better understanding of the water splitting reactions in these interfaces.
 
The research work is carried out in close cooperation with scientists of the Collaborative Research Center/Transregio (CRC/TRR) CataLight (Light-driven Molecular Catalysts in Hierarchically Structured Materials – Synthesis and Mechanistic Studies), in which Leibniz IPHT is involved. The CRC/TRR CataLight investigates photocatalytically active materials that can split water into oxygen and hydrogen.
 
“The Georg Forster Research Fellowship is an excellent opportunity to further pursue my research goals – integrated in a respected scientific network. I am honored to receive this award and to now be able to work together with excellent scientists in Jena. By combining our expertise, we can pave the way towards sustainable and scalable water splitting,” says Prof. Ferdi Karadas.
 
Prof. Dr. Benjamin Dietzek-Ivanšić, Head of the Functional Interfaces Department at Leibniz IPHT and deputy spokesperson of the CRC/TRR CataLight, adds: “I am looking forward to a successful and constructive collaboration with Prof. Karadas and to new and exciting insights into photocatalysis which will result from this cooperation”.
 
About the Georg Forster Research Award
 
The Georg Forster Research Award of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation recognizes not only postdoctoral researchers but also experienced research personalities from developing and emerging countries for their scientific work as well as their contribution to the global sustainability goals of the United Nations. The award allows the award winners to carry out research projects together with excellent researchers from a collaboration institution in Germany.
 
About the person
 
Prof. Ferdi Karadas joined Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey, in 2013 as an Assistant Professor and in 2022 as an Associate Professor. He has received the TUBITAK Young Incentive Award (2020), Mustafa Parlar Young Investigator Award (2020), Science Academy Award (2018), and TÜBA GEBİP Award (2017) for his scientific achievements. His main research interest is the design of inorganic compounds for water splitting.