International Collaboration in Chemistry: Synergistic Tailoring of Flavins and Quantum Dots for Solar Cell Applications

在这个美国研究人员与国外同行之间的国际化学合作(ICC)项目中，由化学部和国际科学与工程办公室的大分子、超分子和纳米化学计划资助，马萨诸塞大学阿姆赫斯特分校的文森特·罗特洛开发了组装量子点的新策略，用于与黄素修饰的聚合物一起在有机光伏系统中实现电荷分离。该方法是利用纳米压印光刻技术形成量子点的纳米柱，然后进行后处理以减小粒子间距，将这些粒子与基于黄素的受体大分子进行接口，然后在有序异质结光伏器件中制备和测试上述化合物。这项工作包括与英国圣安德鲁斯大学的Ifor D.W.Samuel教授和英国格拉斯哥大学的Graeme Cooke教授的国际合作。塞缪尔和库克的工作将由工程和物理科学研究理事会(EPSRC)资助。更广泛的影响包括培养研究生，通过在美国和英国的大学之间建立国际合作来加强研究和教育的基础设施。美国国际和平研究所将通过与LSAMP和加州大学Sure REU项目合作，努力扩大未被充分代表的群体在科学领域的参与。基于有机材料的太阳能电池显示出巨大的技术前景，但在效率低和重大工艺问题方面存在重大缺陷。这项研究将加深我们对有机化合物和无机纳米颗粒如何整合来捕捉光并将其转化为电能的基础性理解。通过开发新的化学成分和加工策略，这项研究可能会带来更容易加工和更便宜的太阳能电池技术。

In this International Collaboration in Chemistry between US Investigators and their Counterparts Abroad (ICC) project funded by the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry Program of the Chemistry Division and the Office of International Science and Engineering, Vincent Rotello of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst develop new strategies for assembling quantum dots to be used with flavin-modified polymers to effect charge separation in organic photovoltaic systems. The approach is to form nanopillars of quantum dots using nanoimprint lithography followed by post-processing to decrease interparticle spacing, to interface these particles with flavin-based acceptor macromolecules, and then to fabricate and test the aforementioned compounds in ordered heterojunction photovoltaic devices. This work includes an international collaboration with Prof. Ifor D. W. Samuel of the University of Saint Andrews, U.K. and Prof. Graeme Cooke of the University of Glasgow, U.K. Profs. Samuel's and Cooke's work will be funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). The broader impacts involve training graduate students, enhancing infrastructure for research and education through establishment of an international collaboration between universities in the U.S. and the U.K. The U.S. PI will endeavor to broaden participation of underrepresented groups in science by working with the LSAMP and SURE REU Programs at UMass. Organic material-based solar cells show great technological promise but have significant drawbacks in terms of low efficiencies and significant processing problems. This research will enhance our fundamental understanding about how the integration of organic compounds and inorganic nanoparticles can be used to capture light and turn it into electrical energy. Through development of new chemical components and processing strategies, this research could lead to easier to process and less expensive solar cell technologies.