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Basic Research Needs for Solar Energy Utilization - Office of ...

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TMS will be used to discover the design rules <strong>for</strong><br />

reverse-engineering building blocks capable <strong>of</strong><br />

self-assembling into target structures.<br />

SCIENTIFIC CHALLENGES<br />

Presently, there exist many scientific challenges<br />

that should be addressed be<strong>for</strong>e the ultimate goal<br />

can be achieved. Here, inexpensive and simple<br />

self-assembly techniques need to be developed <strong>for</strong><br />

the fabrication <strong>of</strong> efficient, large-area, low-cost<br />

solar cells. The thermodynamic and kinetic<br />

principles <strong>for</strong> integration and self-assembly <strong>of</strong><br />

different materials should be exploited. The<br />

principles <strong>of</strong> self-assembly to deposit materials<br />

(e.g., low-dimensional nanostructures, organic<br />

heterostructures, nanocomposites) onto rigid and<br />

flexible substrates should be investigated. The<br />

science <strong>of</strong> manipulating interfacial structures and properties, and processing functional materials<br />

and structures to optimize optical absorption throughout the solar spectrum, exciton <strong>for</strong>mation<br />

and migration towards the proper interface, charge separation, transport, and collection should be<br />

established.<br />

POTENTIAL IMPACT<br />

Ultimately, these ef<strong>for</strong>ts would lead to revolutionary multi-functional systems that are capable <strong>of</strong><br />

light-harvesting, charge separation, molecular transport, fuel production, and chemical<br />

separation. This research direction impacts not only the potential efficiency <strong>of</strong> the solar cell<br />

construction, but also the quality. The objective <strong>of</strong> providing control over morphology and<br />

assembly directly impacts a wide range <strong>of</strong> length scales that can lead to defect-free, high-quality<br />

solar photon conversion devices that can be readily produced on a large scale.<br />

REFERENCES<br />

S. Glotzer, University <strong>of</strong> Michigan, personal communication.<br />

F.X. Redl, K.-S. Cho, C.B. Murray, and S. O'Brien, “Three-dimensional Binary Superlattices <strong>of</strong><br />

Magnetic Nanocrystals and Semiconductor Quantum Dots,” Nature 423, 968 (2003).<br />

S. Stupp, Northwestern University, personal communication.<br />

177<br />

Figure 65 Theoretical simulation <strong>for</strong><br />

nanorod self-organization into smectic phase<br />

(Source: S. Glotzer, University <strong>of</strong> Michigan,<br />

unpublished)

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