This award to South Dakota State University (SDSU) is for the acquisition of an X-ray diffractometer (XRD) system to advance alternative energy research and education. The system will enable thin film, variable temperature/atmosphere, reflectance, scattering, and powder refinement measurements. It will become a core research facility on the SDSU campus to support several NSF, NASA, DOE funded projects, including hybrid nanomaterials for efficient solar energy conversion, extremely thin absorber solar cells, growth of CdSe nanorods, crystalline low bandgap conjugated polymers for photovoltaic applications, and novel catalysts for biomass conversion. The instrument will be housed in the Center for Advanced Photovoltaics at SDSU with assigned space in a newly completed building, guaranteeing the instrument will be fully operational and remain at full capacity upon installation.
The acquisition of a state-of-the-art single-crystal X-ray diffractometer will substantially improve the research capability, competitiveness, and productivity of SDSU, and is expected to attract more researchers to this sparsely populated state. This tool will be integrated into SDSU's Center for Advanced Photovoltaics, an active research cluster that engages graduate and undergraduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and senior investigators in materials research. Research enabled by this instrument is expected to generate a tremendous amount of information on the developed materials, advancing technology in cost-effective solar cells and alternative energy to meet our Nation's needs. The instrument will enable multiple academic departments to improve education by providing research experiences to undergraduate and graduate students. This project will also broaden participation in science and engineering research by incorporating the instrument into established outreach programs, such as the Success Academy and the South Dakota Science and Engineering Fair, to encourage high school, middle school, and Native American students to pursue careers in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics.
at the South Dakota State University (SDSU). The instrument has been purchased, installed and housed in the Center for Advanced Photovoltaics at SDSU with assigned space (DEH 056). This system is currently being widely used by SDSU researchers. It has been integrated into the active research grants in three different departments: Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Department of Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering. It has become a core research facility on the SDSU campus to support several NSF, NASA, DOE funded projects. This has led to significant impacts to SDSU with new research capability to investigate crystalline structures in the materials for the generation of cost effective solar cells and biofuel. The use of XRD at SDSU has helped to generate multiple journal publications and conference presentations/posters. Outcomes - broader impacts The Over the last two years, about 15 students have been trained as independent users. These students have also obtained radiation safety training offered by SDSU Environmental Health & Safety office. In addition, this system has been integrated into the EE560 Sensors and Measurements course. This XRD has been mainly used to facilitate our efforts to develop cost effective solar cells and biofuels. Those efforts can potentially reduce the use of fossil fuels and help people to use more clean and renewable energy. If successful, this will benefit the society by reducing the greenhouse gas emission and slow down global warming.
