MCA: Scalable Nanomanufacturing of Earth-Abundant Electrochromics

通过积极管理来自窗户的太阳辐射和可见光，美国的峰值电力需求可能会减少。电致变色窗，或称“智能”窗，通过在电化学的刺激下可逆地改变其不透明度来控制光的传输。巨大的挑战阻碍了它们的实施，因为由最受欢迎的金属氧化物材料制成的智能窗户的制造成本高得令人望而却步。这一职业生涯中期推进奖支持基础研究，为开发适合于可扩展纳米制造的地球丰富的电致变色材料平台提供必要的知识。目标材料为三元硫化铜半导体。硫化铜纳米颗粒比金属氧化物更容易合成，而且是由低成本、高可用性的元素制成的。该奖项将通过研究具有类似金属的性能的替代纳米材料来促进发现和理解，这些材料在光学应用中可能会超过传统材料。这项研究涉及多个学科，包括制造、电化学、化学合成和材料科学。多学科方法将有助于扩大代表不足的群体对研究的参与，并对工程教育产生积极影响。这些外展项目将激发公众对电致变色窗的热情。三元硫化铜纳米粒子能够通过电化学充放电改变其光学性质。这种电致变色效应可以通过尺寸和组成等参数来增强。该团队将调查一个有效的假设，即对缺乏金属的硫化铜相进行尺寸、组成和化学修饰将增强对电化学调制的敏感性。该团队将使用无溶剂条件(低配基与阳离子的比率)来控制纳米颗粒的成核和生长，并通过一锅法实现可伸缩性。电极将通过电泳沉积来组装，以建立一条通向可扩展设备集成的道路。此外，这一职业生涯中期推进奖将为PI提供受保护的时间和资源，让他们与纳米等离子体领域的西班牙专家开展合作并向其学习。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

By actively managing solar radiation and visible light coming through windows, peak electricity demand in the U.S. could be reduced. Electrochromic, or “smart,” windows control light transmission by reversibly changing their opacity, stimulated by electrochemistry. Significant challenges hinder their implementation because smart windows made from the most popular metal oxide materials are prohibitively costly to manufacture. This Mid-Career Advancement award supports fundamental research to provide needed knowledge for the development of an earth-abundant materials platform for electrochromics that is amenable to scalable nanomanufacturing. The target materials are ternary copper sulfide semiconductors. Copper sulfide nanoparticles are more easily synthesized than metal oxides, and are made from low-cost, highly available elements. This award will advance discovery and understanding through the investigation of alternative nanomaterials with metal-like properties that could outperform traditional materials in optical applications. This research involves several disciplines including manufacturing, electrochemistry, chemical synthesis, and materials science. The multi-disciplinary approach will help broaden participation of underrepresented groups in research and positively impact engineering education. The outreach programs will invigorate public excitement about electrochromic windows. Nanoparticles of ternary copper sulfides have the ability to change their optical properties through electrochemical charging and discharging. This electrochromic effect can be enhanced by parameters such as size and composition. The team will investigate the working hypothesis that size, composition, and chemistry modifications to a metal-deficient copper sulfide phase will enable enhanced sensitivity to electrochemical modulation. The team will use “solventless” conditions (low ratio of ligand to cation) to control the nucleation and growth of the nanoparticles and enable scalability through a one-pot method. Electrodes will be assembled through electrophoretic deposition to establish a path toward scalable device integration. In addition, this Mid-Career Advancement award will provide protected time and resources for the PI to develop a collaboration with and learn from a Spanish expert in the field of nanoplasmonics.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.