I-Corps: Low cost, high volume manufacturing of multicomponent plasmonic interfaces: A nanopaint-based technology for tunable light capturing and energy harvesting

提出的活动需要适应具有可调谐光学特性的等离子体界面，以有利于与可再生能源收集相关的许多创新应用。这些界面是通过将大块纳米颗粒悬浮液（称为纳米涂料）赋予表面所需的光学特性来制造的。纳米涂料技术的科学基础是建立在热力学自组装原理的协同集成上，纳米颗粒和表面之间的物理化学相互作用，以及对金属纳米颗粒光学特性及其对尺寸、形状和成分的依赖的基本理解。此外，利用工艺工程原理，开发了允许低成本和大批量生产纳米涂料界面的稳健纳米制造路线。纳米涂料技术向可再生能源领域的转化，需要根据市场变量和过程经济学对上述基础科学和工程平台进行评估。这将是拟议的I-Corps项目的主要重点。该方案提出的关键创新是能够实现低成本，大批量制造具有高选择性或宽带光收集能力的硬或柔性多组分等离子体界面。目前的制造瓶颈与多种颗粒在界面上的结合以及纳米悬浮液的稳定性差有关，这些都很容易被纳米涂料技术克服。提出的三个主要应用是(i)用于建筑物的智能玻璃外壳，（ii）增强薄膜光伏（pv）的光捕获和转换效率，以及（iii）提高藻类生物量的光养生长速度。该平台技术的变革性社会和商业影响包括以下方面：(i)通过住宅和商业建筑的智能窗户收集阳光并将其转化为热量的能力将减少其碳足迹。（ii）将pv与等离子体界面集成将在其整体能源效率和成本方面具有显着的好处。等离子体增强生物量生长的实用和环境安全方法将有利于生物传感器技术以及作为燃料和化学品原料的藻类生物量的大规模生产。

The proposed activity entails adaptation of plasmonic interfaces with tunable optical properties to benefit a number of innovative applications relevant to renewable energy harvesting. These interfaces are fabricated by imparting a desired optical property to a surface from a bulk nanoparticulate suspension, referred to as nanopaint. The scientific foundation of the nanopaint technology is built upon a synergistic integration of the principles of thermodynamic self-assembly, physico-chemical interactions between nanoparticles and surfaces as well as a fundamental understanding of the optical properties of metal nanoparticles and their dependence on size, shape and composition. In addition, robust nanomanufacturing routes that allow for low cost and high volume production of the nanopaint-based interfaces are developed by utilizing process engineering principles. The translation of the nanopaint technology to the renewable energy arena requires that the abovementioned fundamental science and engineering platform be evaluated in the light of market variables and process economics. This will be the principal focus of the proposed I-Corps project. The key innovation presented in this proposal is the ability to enable low cost, high volume manufacturing of hard or flexible multicomponent plasmonic interfaces capable of highly selective or broadband light harvesting. Current manufacturing bottlenecks associated with the incorporation of multiple species of particles onto an interface and poor stability characteristics of nano-suspensions are easily overcome by the nanopaint technology. Three major applications proposed are (i) smart glass envelopes for buildings, (ii) enhancing the light trapping and conversion efficiency of thin film photovoltaics (PVs), and (iii) increasing phototrophic growth rate of algal biomass. The transformative societal and commercial impacts of this platform technology include the following: (i) The ability to harvest and convert sunlight into heat through smart windows for residential and commercial buildings will reduce their carbon footprint. (ii) Integrating PVs with plasmonic interfaces will have significant benefits in terms of their overall energy efficiency and cost. (iii) Practical and environmentally safe methods of plasmon-enhanced biomass growth will benefit biosensor technology as well as large scale production of algal biomass as feedstock for fuels and chemicals.