CAREER: Rational Design, Synthesis and Understanding of Heteronanostructures as Photoelectrodes for Water Splitting

职业：异质纳米结构作为水分解光电极的合理设计、合成和理解

• 批准号: 1055762
• 负责人: Dunwei Wang
• 金额: $ 55万
• 依托单位: Boston College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-02-01 至 2017-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1055762&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Rational; Design; Synthesis; Understanding

TECHNICAL SUMMARY:The performance of advanced energy conversion devices, including that for solar water splitting, is ultimately connected to the design of the electrode materials at the nanoscale. Current research in this area is limited by how much one can tailor the intrinsic properties of existing materials and the slow progress in discovering novel materials. Supported by the Solid State and Materials Chemistry program within the Division of Materials Research, this proposal will address the challenge by designing, preparing and understanding a new class of nanonet-based materials. The project will build on the PI's past success in making nanostructures with heterogeneous interfaces by studying combinations that include TiSi2 nanonets, which are unique two-dimensional nanostructures discovered by the PI's lab that offer suitably high surface areas and high conductivities, and a variety of oxide semiconductors such as TiO2, WO3 and Fe2O3. Specifically, the PI aims at solving the problems of poor charge diffusion within these oxides. The improved charge collection will reduce the undesired accumulation of photogenerated charges and thereby increase the photon-to-electron-conversion efficiencies. The study will focus on understanding how the electronic properties of nanostructures are influenced by their morphologies and compositions. Experimental techniques to be employed include chemical vapor deposition (for the creation of TiSi2 nanonets), atomic layer deposition (for the conformal coating of oxide semiconductors around the nanonets), various electrochemical methods, and a host of structural characterization procedures. These experiments will produce information on the crystallinity, the electronic property and the chemical property of the nanostructures, which will be essential to not only water splitting but also a number of related energy conversion and storage processes where charge transport plays an important role.NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY:The ability to harvest solar energy and use it directly to produce hydrogen by splitting water has the potential to meet the energy needs without a negative impact on the environment. Due to the lack of suitable materials, this research is currently progressing at a slow pace. The proposed project will introduce a fundamentally new design that may advance the field significantly and make solar water splitting practical. The key to this design is a unique two-dimensional nanonet structure the PI's lab has discovered. When combined with oxide semiconductors, the nanonets can provide a dedicated charge transport pathway that should enable high-efficiency solar water splitting. The research efforts will be augmented by a fully integrated novel education program that aims at disseminating information on clean energy technology. The outreach program will take advantage of the popularity of Boston College's football games. The PI's team will participate in the FanFest event, which attracts a large number of alumni and visitors including K-12 students, by demonstrating how clean energy can be produced and used. A summer program will also be established to invite one to two science teachers each year from local high schools to conduct research on the proposed topics and gain hands-on experience which they will be able to share with their students.

技术摘要：高级能源转换设备的性能，包括用于太阳能分裂的设备，最终与纳米级电极材料的设计相连。 目前在该领域的研究受到了多少可以定制现有材料的内在特性的限制以及发现新型材料的进展缓慢。 在材料研究部内的固态和材料化学计划的支持下，该提案将通过设计，准备和理解一类新的基于纳米的材料来应对挑战。 该项目将建立在PI过去的成功基础上，通过研究包括TISI2纳米的组合来制造具有异质界面的纳米结构，这些组合是PI的实验室发现的独特的二维纳米结构，可提供合适的表面积和高电导率和高电导率，以及各种氧​​化物半导体，以及各种氧​​化物半导体，例如Tio2，Wo3和Fe2O3和Fe2O3，WO3和FE2O3。 具体而言，PI旨在解决这些氧化物中电荷扩散不良的问题。 改进的电荷收集将降低光基电荷的不期望的积累，从而提高光子到电子转化的效率。 这项研究将集中于了解纳米结构的电子特性如何受其形态和组成的影响。 要采用的实验技术包括化学蒸气沉积（用于创建TISI2纳米群），原子层沉积（用于纳米含量周围的氧化物半导体的保形涂层），各种电化学方法以及许多结构表征程序。 这些实验将产生有关纳米结构的结晶度，电子特性和化学特性的信息，这对于不仅水的分裂，而且对电荷运输的许多相关能量转换和存储过程至关重要，而电荷运输起着重要作用。无技术总结：收获太阳能和通过启动水的能量而无需满足能量的氢而无需实现氢而不会影响环境，而无需在环境上产生氢的影响。 由于缺乏合适的材料，这项研究目前正在以缓慢的速度进行。 拟议的项目将引入一种从根本上提出的新设计，该设计可能会大大推进该领域并使太阳能分解实用。 该设计的关键是PI实验室发现的独特的二维纳米结构。 当与氧化物半导体结合使用时，纳米体可以提供专用的电荷传输途径，该途径应使高效太阳能水分分开。 一项完全综合的新型教育计划将增强研究工作，该计划旨在传播有关清洁能源技术的信息。 外展计划将利用波士顿学院的橄榄球比赛的受欢迎程度。 PI的团队将通过展示如何生产和使用清洁能源，吸引大量校友和包括K-12学生在内的访客。 还将建立一个夏季计划，每年从当地高中邀请一到两个科学老师，以对拟议的主题进行研究，并获得他们能够与学生分享的动手经验。