Light Harvesting Nanocarbon-Sensitizer Hybrids

有了这个奖项，化学部的大分子、超分子和纳米化学项目正在支持北德克萨斯大学丹顿分校的Francis D'Souza的研究，以开发有潜力帮助太阳能技术的新材料。这些新材料包括能够捕获可见光和近红外区域光能的敏化剂，以便最大限度地利用可用的阳光。该项目的重点是开发和构建这些增敏剂与导电碳化合物（如石墨烯、碳纳米管和富勒烯）之间的复合物。该项目涉及美国科学家与来自日本、芬兰和波兰的其他研究人员的合作。因此，它正在对必须在全球环境中发挥作用的下一代科学家的培训产生更广泛的影响。它正在对替代能源技术的发展产生进一步广泛的影响。该项目专注于合成具有光活性的超分子功能材料，这些材料能够产生长寿命的电荷分离状态。该项目将确定共价和非共价相互作用在光致电子和能量转移的机理和动力学方面的作用；太阳能收集材料的关键参数。系统的研究正在使用稳态和时间分辨发射，纳秒和飞秒瞬态吸收技术，以更好地了解溶液和材料/电极界面中超分子结构与电子转移性质之间的相互关系。

With this award, the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry program in the Chemistry Division is supporting the research of Francis D'Souza of the University of North Texas, Denton, to develop new materials that have the potential to aid in solar energy technology. These new materials include sensitizers capable of capturing light energy in the visible and near-infrared region in order to make maximum use of available sunlight. The project is focused on the development and construction of complexes between these sensitizers and electrically-conductive carbon compounds such as graphene, carbon nanotubes and fullerenes. The project involves collaboration between the US scientists and other investigators from Japan, Finland and Poland. It is, thus, having a broader impact on the training of the next generation of scientists who must function in a global setting. It is having a further broad impact on the development of alternative energy technologies.The project focuses on synthesizing photo-active, supramolecular functional materials that are capable of generating long-lived charge separated states. The project will establish the role of covalent and non-covalent interactions on the mechanistic and kinetic aspects of photoinduced electron and energy transfer; the key parameters of solar energy harvesting materials. Systematic studies are being conducted using steady-state and time-resolved emission, and nanosecond and femtosecond transient absorption techniques, to gain better understanding of the inter-relationship between supramolecular structures and electron transfer properties in solution and at the material/electrode interface.