Molecular-based Optical Sensitization of Wide-Bandgap Materials

该奖项在无机、生物无机和有机金属化学项目中支持密歇根州立大学James K. McCusker教授的研究，旨在了解光敏化材料的光转化过程中的第一步，这对未来的光伏电池设计很重要，即反应性是否需要激发态热化，或者可以从敏化剂的frank - condon状态注入。这项研究包括三个阶段：1)详细的飞秒动力学研究，在溶液中，用于太阳能电池开发的候选敏化剂；II)研究第一阶段检测的与氧化锆纳米颗粒附着的配合物；III)第一阶段研究的配合物与氧化钛纳米颗粒结合，作为功能性再生太阳能电池的组成部分。这项研究的成功将大大有助于降低一个有前途的太阳能电池系统的成本。该研究还为研究生或博士后提供化学、物理和太阳能电池设备的跨学科培训。

This award in the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry program supports research by Professor James K. McCusker at Michigan State University geared toward understanding the first step, which is important for future photovoltaic cell design, in the photoconversion process of optically sensitized materials, i.e. does reactivity require excited-state thermalization, or can injection proceed from the Franck-Condon state of the sensitizer. The research involves three phases: I) detailed femtosecond dynamics studies, in solution, of sensitizer candidates for solar cell development; II) studies of the complexes examined in Phase I attached to zirconium oxide nanoparticles; and III) studies of the complexes examined in Phase I attached to titanium oxide nanoparticles as components of functional regenerative solar cells.Success in this research would contribute greatly toward reducing the cost of a promising solar cell system. This research also provides interdisciplinary training in chemistry, physics and solar cell devices for a graduate or postdoctoral student.