EAGER: Production of Nanoscale Solar Energy Materials using a Solar Microreactor

EAGER：利用太阳能微反应器生产纳米级太阳能材料

• 批准号: 1105061
• 负责人: Chih-hung Chang
• 金额: $ 10万
• 依托单位: Oregon State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-02-01 至 2013-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1105061&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EAGER; Production; Nanoscale; Solar; Energy

1105061ChangIntellectual MeritsThe main purpose of chemical manufacturing processes is to transform raw materials into useful products. In the course of these operations, energy resources are consumed and the usefulness of materials resources is altered. As the world-wide demand for energy continues to rise and the economic and environmental impact of fossil fuel combustion continues to be felt, the search for suitable alternative energy sources has become more urgent than ever. Among the various renewable energy sources, the conversion of sunlight directly into electricity using the photovoltaic (PV) properties of certain materials is attractive. Current PV manufacturing practices suffer from poor energy efficiency and large carbon footprints due to poor material utilization, high processing temperatures and/or high solvent usage -- offsetting the hope and promise of PV technologies. The objective of this project is to explore the possibility of a zero energy impact chemical manufacturing process for the production of nanoscale solar energy materials.Recent advances in nanocrystals are having a dramatic impact on the development of next generation low-cost and/or high efficiency solar cells. For example, semiconductor nanocrystal inks are used to lower the fabrication cost of the absorber layers of the solar cells. In addition, some quantum confined nanocrystals display an electron-hole pair generation phenomena with greater than 100% quantum yield, called multiple exciton generation. These quantum dots could potentially be used to fabricate solar cells that exceed the Schockley-Queisser limit. This project aims to investigate the microreactor systems powered by renewable energy for the production of nanoscale solar energy materials. The needed thermal energy for driving the chemical reaction will be supplied via a parabolic trough solar concentrator. Two different reactor schemes will be investigated in this EAGER project. One is the direct use of solar radiation onto solar microchannel reactors and the other approach is to use an energy transfer medium to absorb the solar energy then use the medium as an energy input for the synthesis. The idea of using a solar microreactor for the production of nanoscale solar energy materials will be explored for the first time through this EAGER project to assess its feasibility and to identify the key challenges.Broader ImpactsPV manufacturing industry and green building construction industry are expected to grow significantly due to the increasing awareness of renewable energy and government incentives. The current low adoption of solar based energy generation can be attributed to inefficiency and high cost. An inherent cost to the current technology is the high consumption of energy in the solar energy materials production processes. The possibility of achieving zero-energy impact manufacturing processes in a cost-effective manner can make solar energy technologies greener and more affordable. The demonstrations of this solar micro-reaction technology will increase effectiveness and efficiency, reduce cost of nanoscale solar energy materials and in turn lead to wider adoption. Graduate and undergraduate students will be involved in this project and mini projects for the existing K-12 outreach programs on the OSU campus will be developed for recruiting and retaining underrepresented groups (young women and ethnic minorities) into science and engineering.

1105061昌知识产权化学制造过程的主要目的是将原材料转化为有用的产品。在这些操作的过程中，能源被消耗，材料资源的有用性被改变。随着世界范围内对能源的需求持续上升，并且持续感受到化石燃料燃烧的经济和环境影响，寻找合适的替代能源变得比以往任何时候都更加紧迫。在各种可再生能源中，利用某些材料的光伏（PV）特性将阳光直接转化为电力是有吸引力的。 由于材料利用率低、加工温度高和/或溶剂使用量高，目前的光伏制造实践存在能源效率低和碳足迹大的问题，抵消了光伏技术的希望和前景。该项目的目标是探索零能量影响的化学制造工艺生产纳米太阳能材料的可能性。纳米晶体的最新进展对下一代低成本和/或高效率太阳能电池的开发产生了巨大影响。例如，半导体油墨用于降低太阳能电池的吸收层的制造成本。此外，一些量子限制的纳米晶体显示具有大于100%量子产率的电子-空穴对产生现象，称为多激子产生。这些量子点可能被用来制造超过Schockley-Queisser极限的太阳能电池。本项目旨在研究以可再生能源为动力的微反应器系统，用于生产纳米级太阳能材料。驱动化学反应所需的热能将通过抛物槽式太阳能集中器提供。在EAGER项目中，将研究两种不同的反应堆方案。一种是直接利用太阳能辐射到太阳能微通道反应器上，另一种方法是使用能量转移介质来吸收太阳能，然后使用该介质作为合成的能量输入。通过EAGER项目，将首次探索利用太阳能微反应器生产纳米级太阳能材料的想法，以评估其可行性并确定关键挑战。更广泛的影响光伏制造业和绿色建筑业预计将大幅增长，由于可再生能源意识的提高和政府的激励措施。目前太阳能发电的低采用率可归因于低效率和高成本。当前技术的固有成本是太阳能材料生产过程中的高能量消耗。以具有成本效益的方式实现零能源影响的制造工艺的可能性可以使太阳能技术更加绿色和更加负担得起。这种太阳能微反应技术的示范将提高效率和效率，降低纳米级太阳能材料的成本，从而导致更广泛的采用。研究生和本科生将参与该项目，并将开发OSU校园现有K-12外展计划的小型项目，以招募和保留代表性不足的群体（年轻女性和少数民族）进入科学和工程领域。