A Safe-by-Design Nano Materials Research Platform for Practical Applications in Optoelectronics and Energy Conversion

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This Discovery Program will launch Safe-by-Design (SbD) research on nanomaterial-based optoelectronics by following a unique, proactive approach that also takes material toxicity, safety, and process scalability issues into consideration. The global nanotechnology market has been growing at a compound annual growth rate of >18%, and is poised to reach $175B by 2025. Of the different types of nanomaterials, quantum dots (QDs) are growing at the highest pace (27.8% CAGR, US$ 13.6B by 2026), leading to disruptive new approaches in display technologies, photovoltaics, solid state lighting, and biomedical imaging. While their benefits are indisputable, certain nanomaterials lead to safety and health (S&H) concerns. A majority of the QD materials who are leading contenders for high-performance devices are based on toxic elements such as cadmium, lead, and mercury. Also, at the R&D stage most efforts tend focus on device performance, and less on S&H. When production volumes grow in the future, S&H can become an insurmountable issue at the 3 levels of materials synthesis, device processing, and system deployment. Air-borne nanoparticles will also be an important concern in processing environments, even with non-toxic material systems. It is therefore essential for the scientific community to pro-actively make the right material choices, apply scientific innovation to enhance the properties of safer nanomaterials, and to develop device processing schemes that are both scalable and safe, before it becomes too late. Unlike their bulk counterparts, nanomaterials offer us the unique possibility to engineer their properties through compositional, dimensional modifications. In this 5-year program I will establish a unique SbD research program with the focus on synthesis, enhancement, and deployment of safe QD materials in photovoltaic, display, and emission devices. The focus will be on non-toxic graphene, silicon, and copper-indium based QD systems. The program will have four research thrusts, (i) synthesis and enhancement methods for non-toxic QDs to bring them on par with current top-performing QDs, (ii) development of safe and scalable processes for QD-based photovoltaic, emission, and display devices, (iii) Detection and quantification methods for nanoparticles spread in processing environments, and (iv) guidelines for safe and high volume processing of QDs and QD-enabled devices. Supported by my research experience and technical expertise materials processing and devices at the Centre for Advanced Photovoltaic and Display Systems, the proposed program will provide an essential, timely, and innovative research platform to accelerate nanomaterials research in a meaningful way. The program will also offer excellent HQP training in both scientific and hands-on research, and will steer the safe translation of research into scaled-up applications by ensuring R&D and S&H go hand in hand.