Light Harvesting Nanocarbon-Sensitizer Hybrids

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With this award, the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry program in the Chemistry Division is supporting the research of Francis D'Souza of the University of North Texas, Denton, to develop new materials that have the potential to aid in solar energy technology. These new materials include sensitizers capable of capturing light energy in the visible and near-infrared region in order to make maximum use of available sunlight. The project is focused on the development and construction of complexes between these sensitizers and electrically-conductive carbon compounds such as graphene, carbon nanotubes and fullerenes. The project involves collaboration between the US scientists and other investigators from Japan, Finland and Poland. It is, thus, having a broader impact on the training of the next generation of scientists who must function in a global setting. It is having a further broad impact on the development of alternative energy technologies.The project focuses on synthesizing photo-active, supramolecular functional materials that are capable of generating long-lived charge separated states. The project will establish the role of covalent and non-covalent interactions on the mechanistic and kinetic aspects of photoinduced electron and energy transfer; the key parameters of solar energy harvesting materials. Systematic studies are being conducted using steady-state and time-resolved emission, and nanosecond and femtosecond transient absorption techniques, to gain better understanding of the inter-relationship between supramolecular structures and electron transfer properties in solution and at the material/electrode interface.