Our research interests include solar energy conversion, catalysis, electronic materials, and chemical structure and bonding. Within this context we focus on developing rational synthetic methods to prepare earth-abundant and inexpensive materials for photon capture, innovative homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts, and unique reactivity models. We conduct highly collaborative research through our affiliation with Argonne National Laboratory.
Students in the Hock group will learn to synthesize and characterize novel substances throughout the course of their research. We routinely use techniques such as multi-nuclear NMR, UV-Vis spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopy, and x-ray crystallography to characterize molecular substances. The composition and properties of new materials are routinely determined by Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy (RBS), Scanning and Tunneling Electron Microscopy (SEM & TEM), and diffraction methods as well as optical, electrical, and other measurements where appropriate.
