Engineering New Nanostructured Materials for Tunable Light-Matter Interactions

工程新型纳米结构材料可调节光-物质相互作用

• 批准号: RGPIN-2017-06405
• 负责人: Kherani, Nazir
• 金额: $ 3.42万
• 依托单位: University of Toronto
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=712225
• 关键词: Engineering; New; Nanostructured; Materials; Tunable

Nanomaterials engineering presents a rich venue for the development of new materials with unique functionalities amenable to a variety of applications computing, communications, sensing, and energy to name a few. This abundance of possibilities arises from the fact that at the nanoscale, size shape and structure play a significant role in determining material properties and associated phenomena - in addition to composition. One exciting field of study is that of light-matter interactions at the nanoscale, and in particular, lines of inquiry motivated by the objective of developing effective means of harnessing light energy. Considering that the unremitting rays of the sun bathe the globe in light energy at an average power level of ~89,000 TW* some three orders beyond our present global energy consumption rate of ~20 TW and where the latter is principally comprised of depleting fossil fuels it clearly behooves us to develop the next generation of materials and devices that can effectively tap this light energy generating electricity and solar fuels, daylighting, heating and cooling and thus advancing the vision of realizing a sustainable society. Dr. Kherani's research program is to develop new nanomaterials with a high degree of compositional, structural and size control that will enable the attainment of desired light-matter interaction in devices that harvest and control light energy, as well as allied emergent devices in the fields of sensing, imaging and photonics in general. Advances in tunable nanomaterials capable of enhanced interaction with visible, infrared, and mid-infrared radiation can lead to new paradigmsenabling effective conversion of solar and thermal radiation into electrical energy, and efficient utilization of light energy through facile control over the flow of visible and invisible light energy (for example, through windows). Further, rationally designed nanomaterials can also be applied for photoactive applications including smart photo-thermo-response optical devices, photocatalytic generation of solar fuels (for example, hydrogen and hydrocarbon fuels from solar energy) and artificial photosynthesis. ________________ *While this is the total power flux, the technical potential of electricity generation is ~7,500 TW and that for solar fuels (hydrogen production) is ~2,500 TW; the latter estimates include 30% and 10% photovoltaic and photochemical conversion efficiencies, respectively. These figures also account for the generally inaccessible oceans and frigid poles.

纳米材料工程为开发具有独特功能的新材料提供了丰富的场所，这些材料适用于各种应用，例如计算，通信，传感和能源等。这种丰富的可能性源于这样一个事实，即在纳米级，尺寸形状和结构在决定材料特性和相关现象方面发挥着重要作用-除了组成。一个令人兴奋的研究领域是纳米级的光-物质相互作用，特别是开发利用光能的有效方法的目的所激发的研究路线。 考虑到源源不断的太阳光线以~89的平均功率水平使地球仪沐浴在光能中，000太瓦 * 比我们目前的全球能源消耗率高出约三个数量级。20 TW，而后者主要由耗尽的化石燃料组成，显然我们应该开发下一代材料和设备，可以有效地利用这种光能发电，太阳能燃料、日光照明、供暖和制冷，从而推进实现可持续社会的愿景。 博士Kherani的研究计划是开发具有高度成分，结构和尺寸控制的新型纳米材料，这将使收获和控制光能的设备以及传感，成像和光子学领域的相关新兴设备实现所需的光-物质相互作用。可调纳米材料能够增强与可见光、红外线和中红外线辐射的相互作用，这方面的进展可以带来新的范例，使太阳能和热辐射能够有效地转化为电能，并通过对可见光和不可见光能量的流动（例如，通过窗户）进行轻松控制来有效利用光能。此外，合理设计的纳米材料还可以应用于光敏应用，包括智能光热响应光学器件、光催化产生太阳能燃料（例如，来自太阳能的氢和烃燃料）和人工光合作用。 ________________ * 虽然这是总功率通量，但发电的技术潜力约为7，500 TW，太阳能燃料（制氢）的技术潜力约为2，500 TW;后者的估计分别包括30%和10%的光伏和光化学转换效率。这些数字也说明了通常无法进入的海洋和寒冷的两极。