Type-II Nanorod Heterostructures for Solar Harvesting Applications

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This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).The Division of Chemistry supports Abraham Wolcott of the University of Texas at Austin as an American Competitiveness in Chemistry Fellow. Dr. Wolcott will investigate the preparation, assembly and properties of one-dimensional type II CdSe/ZnTe semiconductor nanorods and their possible use in photovoltaic devices. Dr. Wolcott will synthesize the nanorods, align them vertically on a substrate and probe their photophysical properties with ultrafast spectroscopy techniques. Ultimately, Dr. Wolcott will use these materials to build solar cells. Dr. Wolcott will work in collaboration with scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. In his plan for broadening participation, Dr. Wolcott will work with middle and high school students in the Austin metro area in hands-on projects designed to teach students about solar energy.Research like that of Dr. Wolcott is aimed at developing more efficient ways of producing solar energy -- a renewable energy source. The efforts at broadening participation being pursued by Dr. Wolcott are aimed at increasing the participation of young people from underrepresented groups in the sciences.