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)，以开展与STEM(科学、技术、工程和数学)中代表性较低的群体扩大参与相关的研究和活动。帕特尔博士的这笔奖学金支持在一位赞助科学家的指导下进行的题为《MPS-Ascend：通过强耦合提高单线态裂变速率》的研究项目。该奖学金的主办机构是西北大学，赞助科学家是Teri Odon博士。这项计划计划研究如何将激发的单态转化为两个三态(称为单态裂变)，通过将高能光子向下转化为更有用的能量范围，从而显著提高太阳能电池的效率。我们将把并五苯和均二亚胺作为单重态裂变发色团进行研究。这项拟议的工作将使用以一种新的结构排列的等离子体纳米粒子来研究极化激子辅助的单重态裂变，这种结构不需要反射镜，并且可以通过改变等离子体纳米粒子周围的溶剂的介电常数来方便地调节光子模式。该提议旨在通过表面晶格共振来推进极化激元辅助的单重态裂变过程，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有助于开发更高效的光电设备。国际和平协会打算通过指导、宣传和公共宣传活动，扩大代表不足的群体在科学领域的参与。PI计划指导学生，为他们提供追求和保持科学学科所需的工具和鼓励。PI打算加入西北化学关怀委员会，以提高系内的多样性，并参与西北大学校园的努力，以提高社区的公平性、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，通过为学生举办一个带有科学实验的课后计划，举办教师工作坊，并访问学校向年轻学生展示科学示范，来提高大芝加哥地区的科学意识和知识。这个奖项反映了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。

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.