Geoffrey Ozin (photo by Camilla Pucholt)
U of T-led research team wins Royal Society of Chemistry Horizon Prize
Published: August 8, 2025
A research team led by Geoffrey Ozin, a University Professor of chemistry in the Faculty of Arts & Science, has won a Horizon Prize presented by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).
Horizon Prizes recognize groundbreaking discoveries and innovations made by research teams and collaborations who are opening new directions in chemical science.
The Gas-phase Heterogeneous Catalysis for Solar Fuels Research team – also known as the University of Toronto Solar Fuels Cluster – was recognized with the Environment, Sustainability and Energy Horizon Prize for defining a chemical approach to nanomaterials leading to efficient gas-phase heterogeneous carbon dioxide photocatalysis.
The team includes several scholars from the department of chemistry community – including Professor Alán Aspuru-Guzik, post-doctoral researcher Athanasios (Athan) Tountas and PhD alum and postdoctoral researcher Wei Sun, who is also a professor at Zhejiang University in China – as well as collaborators from institutions across Canada and globally.
“A key motivation for the team is the desire to close the carbon cycle by transforming waste CO2 into useful products, thereby reducing atmospheric greenhouse gases," Ozin told the RSC.
Ozin advised young chemists to supplement a strong foundation in core chemistry with skills in data science, coding and digital tools. "Chemistry now intersects more than ever with computer science, engineering and materials science," he said. “Most importantly, don’t lose sight of the impact – focus on solving real-world problems.”
