Postdoctoral Fellowship: MPS-Ascend: Increasing the Rate of Singlet Fission through Strong Coupling

Shreya K. Patel被授予NSF数学和物理科学提升博士后研究奖学金（NSF MPS-Ascend），以开展一项研究和活动，以扩大STEM（科学、技术、工程和数学）中代表性不足的群体的参与。帕特尔博士的这项奖学金是为了支持一项名为“MPS-Ascend：通过强耦合提高单线态裂变速率”的研究项目，该项目由一名赞助科学家指导。该奖学金的主办机构是西北大学，赞助科学家是泰瑞·奥多姆博士。该提案计划研究将激发态单线态转化为两个三重态（称为单线态裂变），这可以通过将高能光子降转化为更有用的能量范围来显着提高太阳能电池的效率。并五苯和苝二亚胺将作为单线态裂变发色团进行研究。这项工作将研究极化辅助单线态裂变，使用等离子体纳米粒子排列在一种新的结构中，这种结构不需要镜子，并且可以通过改变等离子体纳米粒子周围溶剂的介电常数来轻松调整光子模式。该提案旨在通过表面晶格共振推进极化辅助单线态裂变过程，并使其在能量收集应用中更加实用。这项工作的成功实施可能允许开发更高效的光电器件。PI打算通过指导、倡导和公共宣传活动，扩大代表性不足的群体对科学的参与。PI计划指导学生，为他们提供追求和留在科学学科所需的工具和鼓励。PI打算加入西北大学化学关怀委员会，以改善该系内部的多样性，并参与西北大学校园内的努力，以改善社区的公平性、多样性和包容性。最后，PI计划加入西北大学的社会科学小组，通过为学生举办课后科学实验项目，举办教师研讨会，以及访问学校向年轻学生展示科学演示，提高大芝加哥地区的科学意识和知识。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Shreya K. Patel is awarded an NSF Mathematical and Physical Sciences Ascending Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (NSF MPS-Ascend) to conduct a program of research and activities related to broaden participation by groups underrepresented in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). This fellowship to Dr. Patel supports the research project entitled “MPS-Ascend: Increasing the Rate of Singlet Fission through Strong Coupling” under the mentorship of a sponsoring scientist. The host institution for the fellowship is Northwestern University, and the sponsoring scientist is Dr. Teri Odom.This proposal plans to study the conversion of an excited singlet state down to two triplets (known as singlet fission) that could dramatically improve the efficiency of solar cells by down-converting high energy photons into a more useful energy range. Pentacene and perylene di-imide will be investigated as singlet fission chromophores. The proposed work will investigate polariton-assisted singlet fission using plasmonic nanoparticles arranged in a new architecture that doesn’t require mirrors and can allow for facile tuning of the photonic mode by changing the dielectric constant of the solvent around the plasmonic nanoparticles. The proposal seeks to advance the polariton-assisted singlet fission process through surface lattice resonances and make it more practical for energy harvesting applications. Successful implementation of this work may allow for the development of more efficient optoelectronic devices.The PI intends to broaden the participation of underrepresented groups in science by mentorship, advocacy, and public outreach activities. The PI plans to mentor students to provide them with the tools and encouragement they need to pursue and stay in the science disciplines. The PI intends to join the Northwestern Chemistry CARES committee to improve diversity within the department, and to participate in efforts on the Northwestern University campus to improve equity, diversity, and inclusion in the community. Finally, the PI plans to join the Science in Society group at Northwestern University to improve awareness and knowledge of science in the greater Chicago area by hosting an after school program with scientific experiments for students, hosting teacher workshops, and visiting schools to present science demonstrations to younger students.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.