University of Ottawa

Purpose

The unique, world-leading Ultrafast X-ray Science Facility at the University of Ottawa, will combine the atomic selectivity and high spatial resolution of X-rays with the ultrafast time-resolution of femtosecond lasers. This opens up entirely new avenues of research for the study of light-induced molecular processes, of which solar energy conversion is a key example. Nature is not static: in the 21st century, we will need an understanding of Nature which goes beyond the traditional structural studies which dominated the 20th century. For example, how specific atomic motions lead to highly efficient electronic charge transfer requires an ultrafast, dynamical understanding of Nature. The aim is to uncover the fundamental rules governing these ultrafast charge transfer processes by combining state-of-the-art Experiment with Theory. This understanding will lead to a completely new approach to the rational design of solar energy conversion devices – one that is based on the fundamental ultrafast dynamics of the charge transfer process itself.