SOLAR: Ultrabroad spectral bandwidth excitonic thin film solar cells based on carbon nanotubes

这个太阳能研究奖是由数学和物理科学局的化学、材料研究和数学科学部共同资助的。密歇根大学和南加州大学的化学、材料科学、数学、物理和工程小组将合作开发一种基于聚合物包裹的碳纳米管(CNT)的独特的、新型的薄膜太阳能电池。这些薄膜将用于施主-受主异质结，采用一系列新的有机材料和器件结构，包括聚合物和小分子。碳纳米管的使用将光学灵敏度从蓝色扩展到近红外，使基于有机的设备能够接近热力学上有限的电力转换效率。用新的树形编码算法和半经典流体力学模型模拟了激发态(激子)在碳纳米管网络中的流动和电荷输运。高效的多维优化方法被用来开发新型的非周期性介质堆栈，该堆栈将广泛的太阳光谱耦合成非常薄的薄膜，用作太阳能电池的有源器件区域。各种各样的本科生、研究生和博士后研究员都参与了可再生能源的跨学科研究。这些学生有机会通过各自大学校园的能源政策和地缘政治课程来影响有关能源选择的政策决策。该小组还参与了密歇根大学的周六早上物理系列讲座，为公众提供对最新科学和技术的见解。

This award on solar energy research is co-funded by the Divisions of Chemistry, Materials Research, and Mathematical Sciences of the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences. A collaboration of chemistry, materials science, mathematics, physics, and engineering groups at the University of Michigan and the University of Southern California will develop a unique, new, thin film solar cell based on polymer-wrapped carbon nanotubes (CNTs). These films will be used in donor-acceptor heterojunctions employing a range of new organic materials and device structures, including polymers and small molecules. The use of CNTs extends the optical sensitivity from the blue into the near infrared, allowing organic-based devices to approach nearly thermodynamically-limited power conversion efficiencies. Simulated excited state (exciton) flow and charge transport through the CNT network uses new treecode algorithms and semi-classical hydrodynamical models. Efficient, multi-dimensional optimization methods are used to develop novel aperiodic dielectric stacks that couple the broad solar spectrum into very thin films used as the active device region in solar cells. A diverse range of undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows are engaged in this interdisciplinary research in renewable energy. These students are provided with opportunities to influence policy decisions regarding energy choices through coursework in energy policy and geopolitics on their respective university campuses. The group is also involved in the University of Michigan's Saturday Morning Physics lecture series, providing the public with insights into the latest science and technologies.