BRIGE: Nanostructured Transition Metal Dichalcogenides for the Solar Production of Hydrogen

EEC-0824484JaramilloBRIGE奖项通过增加ENG研究人员的多样性来维持全球竞争力，这些研究人员在职业生涯早期就开始了研究计划。Brige通过增加工程学毕业生的数量，改善女性和少数族裔在工程学领域的代表性，以及了解如何改善工程专业学生的招聘和留住，进一步扩大了工程学研究人员的参与。人类每天消耗的能源相当于2亿桶石油。每天，太阳在地球上沉积的能量相当于1.7万亿桶。由于太阳提供的能量是人类消耗的近10,000倍，这就需要找到一种经济有效的方法来利用它。尽管在太阳能利用方面进行了数十年的研究，但我们仍远未找到成本效益高的解决方案，能够提供我们不久将需要的约10TW的清洁电力。这一布里奇奖将在纳米级研究工程层状半导体，如MoS2和WS2，以调整它们的性能，通过光电化学(PEC)分解水将太阳光子直接转化为H2和O2。PI旨在通过使用纳米结构来控制关键的PEC属性来改变太阳能研究，即半导体带隙、与H2和O2氧化还原电位的带边对齐、半导体内的电荷传输、耐久性以及析氢反应(HER)的表面动力学。此前，PI已经能够合成纳米MoS_2，并且与块状MoS_2不同，这些颗粒由于其纳米结构而对HER表现出优异的电催化性能。研究活动在性质上是基本的，目的是了解这些纳米结构二卤化物半导体及其内部发生的物理化学现象，以便利用这些知识开发新的纳米级半导体。PI的最终目标是开发高效的太阳能转换燃料设备。PI将广泛影响三个一般领域：社会、科学和教育。重大的能源挑战是提高太阳能的利用，这将产生全球和社会影响。从科学的角度来看，在这些纳米尺度的二卤化物半导体中获得的关于化学、催化、光学和电子现象的知识将广泛地促进许多不同的科学领域。在教育方面，PI将开展一系列涉及K-12、本科生和研究生的外展活动。此外，波多黎各人国际和平协会在两个地点为波多黎各学生建立了外联机会：(1)波多黎各大学(UPR)，国际和平协会打算在那里招收本科生申请斯坦福大学的博士课程；(2)在国际和平协会的高中母校圣约翰学校，他将在那里与K-12学生互动，鼓励他们攻读科学和工程学科。在距离斯坦福大学更近的地方，PI还计划成为法院当地青少年病房的榜样，他们中的大多数是代表不足的少数族裔。PI还将参加斯坦福大学工程学院的项目，以吸引即将入学的一年级本科生进入科学和工程领域，重点关注女性和代表不足的少数民族。这项布里奇赠款将扩大所有工程师的参与，并增加他们的机会，包括那些来自工程学学科代表不足的群体的工程师。这笔布里奇补助金还将鼓励PI作为独立调查员积极和有竞争力地参与研究。

EEC-0824484JaramilloBRIGE awards maintain global competitiveness by increasing the diversity of ENG researchers, who are initiating research programs early in their careers. BRIGE awards further the broaden participation of engineering researchers by increasing the number of engineering graduates, by improving the representation of women and minorities in engineering, and by understanding how to improve recruitment and retention of engineering students.Human beings consume the energy equivalent of 200 million barrels of oil per day. Each day, the sun deposits on the earth an energy equivalent of 1.7 trillion barrels. Since the sun provides nearly 10,000 times more energy than humans consume, this necessitates a need to find a cost-effective way to harness it. Despite decades of research in solar utilization, we are still far from a cost-effective solution that can provide the ~10 TW of clean power that we will soon need. This BRIGE award will investigate engineering layered semiconductors, such as MoS2 and WS2, at the nanoscale level to tune their properties for the direct conversion of solar photons to H2 and O2 by photoelectrochemical (PEC) water-splitting. The PI aims to transform solar energy research by using nanostructure to control critical PEC properties-namely, the semiconductor bandgap, band edge alignment with H2 and O2 redox potentials, charge transport within the semiconductor, durability, and surface kinetics for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Previously, the PI has been able to synthesize nanoparticulate MoS2 and that, unlike the case of bulk MoS2, these particles exhibit excellent electrocatalytic properties for the HER due to their nanostructure. The research activities are fundamental in nature and aim to understand the physico-chemical phenomena occurring on and within these nanostructured dichalcogenide semiconductors in order to exploit this knowledge for the development of new, nanoscale semiconductors. The PI's ultimate goal is to develop efficient solar-to-fuels devices.The PI will broadly impact three general areas: societal, scientific, and educational. The grand energy challenge is to improve utilization of solar energy, which will have global and societal impacts. From a scientific perspective, the knowledge gained regarding the chemical, catalytic, optical, and electronic phenomena within these nanoscale dichalcogenide semiconductors will contribute broadly to a number of different scientific fields. Regarding education, the PI will conduct a number of outreach activities involving K-12, undergraduate, and graduate students. Additionally, the PI, native of Puerto Rico, has established outreach opportunities to Puerto Rican students in two locations: (1) the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), where the PI intends to recruit undergraduates to apply to the Ph.D. program at Stanford University, and (2) at the high school alma mater of the PI, Saint John's School, where he will interact with K-12 students and inspire them to pursue science and engineering disciplines. Closer to Stanford University, the PI also plans to be a role model for local juvenile wards of the court, most of whom are underrepresented minorities. The PI will also participate in Stanford University School of Engineering programs to attract incoming first year undergraduates into science and engineering, with directed attention to women and underrepresented minorities.This BRIGE grant will broaden the participation of and increase opportunities for all engineers including those from groups underrepresented in the engineering disciplines. This BRIGE grant will also encourage the PI to become actively and competitively engaged in research as an independent investigator.