MCA: Scalable Nanomanufacturing of Earth-Abundant Electrochromics

通过积极管理太阳辐射和透过窗户的可见光，美国的峰值电力需求可以减少。电致变色，或“智能”，窗户控制光传输可逆地改变其不透明度，刺激电化学。重大挑战阻碍了它们的实施，因为由最流行的金属氧化物材料制成的智能窗户的制造成本高得令人望而却步。这个中期职业发展奖支持基础研究，为开发适合可扩展纳米制造的电致变色地球丰富材料平台提供所需的知识。目标材料是三元硫化铜半导体。硫化铜纳米颗粒比金属氧化物更容易合成，并且由低成本，高可用性的元素制成。该奖项将通过研究具有类似金属性质的替代纳米材料来推进发现和理解，这些材料在光学应用中的性能可能优于传统材料。这项研究涉及多个学科，包括制造，电化学，化学合成和材料科学。多学科方法将有助于扩大代表性不足的群体在研究中的参与，并对工程教育产生积极影响。推广计划将激发公众对电致变色窗户的兴奋。三元硫化铜纳米粒子具有通过电化学充放电改变其光学性质的能力。这种电致变色效应可以通过诸如尺寸和组成的参数来增强。该团队将研究工作假设，即对缺乏金属的硫化铜相的大小，组成和化学修饰将增强对电化学调制的敏感性。该团队将使用“无溶剂”条件（配体与阳离子的低比例）来控制纳米颗粒的成核和生长，并通过一锅法实现可扩展性。电极将通过电泳沉积组装，以建立一条通往可扩展设备集成的道路。此外，该中期职业发展奖将为PI提供受保护的时间和资源，以便与西班牙纳米等离子体领域的专家开展合作并向其学习。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

By actively managing solar radiation and visible light coming through windows, peak electricity demand in the U.S. could be reduced. Electrochromic, or “smart,” windows control light transmission by reversibly changing their opacity, stimulated by electrochemistry. Significant challenges hinder their implementation because smart windows made from the most popular metal oxide materials are prohibitively costly to manufacture. This Mid-Career Advancement award supports fundamental research to provide needed knowledge for the development of an earth-abundant materials platform for electrochromics that is amenable to scalable nanomanufacturing. The target materials are ternary copper sulfide semiconductors. Copper sulfide nanoparticles are more easily synthesized than metal oxides, and are made from low-cost, highly available elements. This award will advance discovery and understanding through the investigation of alternative nanomaterials with metal-like properties that could outperform traditional materials in optical applications. This research involves several disciplines including manufacturing, electrochemistry, chemical synthesis, and materials science. The multi-disciplinary approach will help broaden participation of underrepresented groups in research and positively impact engineering education. The outreach programs will invigorate public excitement about electrochromic windows. Nanoparticles of ternary copper sulfides have the ability to change their optical properties through electrochemical charging and discharging. This electrochromic effect can be enhanced by parameters such as size and composition. The team will investigate the working hypothesis that size, composition, and chemistry modifications to a metal-deficient copper sulfide phase will enable enhanced sensitivity to electrochemical modulation. The team will use “solventless” conditions (low ratio of ligand to cation) to control the nucleation and growth of the nanoparticles and enable scalability through a one-pot method. Electrodes will be assembled through electrophoretic deposition to establish a path toward scalable device integration. In addition, this Mid-Career Advancement award will provide protected time and resources for the PI to develop a collaboration with and learn from a Spanish expert in the field of nanoplasmonics.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.