This CAREER award to Dr. Sandra Rosenthal at Vanderbilt University is supported by the Advanced Materials Program in the Chemistry Division. The focus of the research is femtosecond fluorescence studies of charge transfer reactions in nanocrystal-based photovoltaic systems with the goal of exploiting quantum confinement in semiconducting nanocrystals to create high speed and efficiency photovoltaics. Specific ojectives are to determine and control the fate of photocreated electron-hole pairs in semiconducting nanocrystals, to determine the rate and mechanism of nanocrystal to C60 electron transfer, to determine the rate and mechanism of nanocrystal to polymer hole transfer, and to determine the ideal nanocrystal size for nanocrystal/C60/polymer-based photovoltaics. Fundamental issues to be addressed will be characterization of semiconductor nanocrystal surfaces at the atomic level and the role surface density of states plays in carrier relaxation and charge-transfer, ultrafast spectroscopy of charge-transfer in systems where a quantum confined semiconductor serves as a donor, and electron transfer in electroactive polymers. This research could impact and lead to commercially viable photovoltaic and optoelectronic devices.
Apart from involving undergraduates in the above research, the teaching component of the CAREER award will facilitate involvement of undergraduates in the Chemistry Department broadly through the establishment of integrated Analytical-Physical Chemistry labs and courses emphasizing use of advanced spectroscopic and surface microscopy instrumentation .
