I-Corps: Titania Nanotubes and Related Materials for Diverse Applications

该项目将研究二氧化钛纳米管在太阳能电池、光催化、催化等领域的商业潜力。在过去的几年里，PI在这些领域的研究已经确定了几种高效率、低成本的技术成熟的方法：(I)通过廉价和可扩展的电化学路线生产具有超高表面密度的二氧化钛纳米管阳极的开发和表征。(Ii)合成适用于太阳能电池的低成本聚合物空穴再生剂，如聚-二氧基噻吩乙二烯(PEDOT)；(Iii)具有极高催化氧化效率的金纳米管修饰的二氧化钛纳米管，从而展示了在燃料电池、汽车催化剂等方面的应用前景。这项工作将带来能源技术的几个进步：(I)技术成熟的生物兼容纳米材料；高性能催化材料；(Ii)固体空穴导体将取代目前光伏电池/组件中的主要瓶颈液体电解液；(Iii)将实现高性能太阳能电池组件的优化集成，从而实现稳定、低成本、高效、适合大规模生产的太阳能电池。如果成功，这个项目可能会产生商业影响，建立几个新的联系。该项目中的新开发将获得专利，并将采取快速技术转让措施。这项研究借鉴了一些科学学科，将材料科学与光伏、光电子学和化学相结合，从而为学生提供了独特的教育体验，包括代表不足的群体的参与，加强研究和教育的基础设施，以及产业推广。

The project will investigate the commercial potentail of titania nanotubes for applications in solar cells, photocatalysis, catalysis, etc. Research in these areas by the PI over the last several years has identified several high-efficiency, low-cost technology-ready methodologies in (i) the development and characterization of titania nanotube anodes with ultra-high surface density produced via inexpensive and scalable electrochemical routes. (ii) synthesis of low-cost polymer hole-regenerators such as poly-ethylene-dioxy-thiophene (PEDOT) amenable to solar cell applications (iii) Titania nanotubes decorated with gold nanoparticles with extraordinarily high catalytic oxidation efficiencies thus demonstrating promise for applications in fuel cells, automobile catalysts, etc. Several advances in energy technology will emanate from this work: (i) tech-ready biocompatible nanomaterials; high-performance catalyst materials; photocatalyst and photovoltaic anodes with superior charge transport and solar absorptive properties will be developed (ii) the liquid electrolyte which is the main bottleneck in current PV cells/modules will be replaced by solid hole-conductors and (iii) an optimal integration of high-performance solar cell components will be achieved resulting in stable, low cost, high-efficiency solar cells which are amenable to large-volume manufacture. If successful, this project may have commercial impacts with the establishment of several new contacts. The novel developments within this project will be patented and rapid tech-transfer measures will be taken. The research draws on a number scientific disciplines, combining materials science with photovoltaics, optoelectronics and chemistry, thus providing a unique educational experience for students including the participation of underrepresented groups, enhancement of infrastructure for research and education, and industrial outreach.