My research interest is towards the interaction between light and metallic/semiconductor nanostructures and its influence on catalytic reactions. I am currently involved in a project within the area of hydrogen production from water and sunlight in photocatalytic/photoelectrochemical cells. The central aspect of my studies consists in a systematic use of state-of-art nanoscience and nanotechnology knowledge to fabricate well-defined model systems. We expect this to provide us with a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying water splitting, which would help in the design of photocatalytic/photoelectrochemical cells with improved efficiency. The overall energy conversion efficiency of such cells is critically affected by the properties of the material used as photoanode. The current focus is on studying the photoresponse of nanostructured hematite (α-Fe₂O₃), a promising candidate as photoanode since long ago, and on how to improve its response by functionalizing it with plasmonically active metallic nanoparticles.