Student Project Abstracts 2005 - Pluto - University of Washington

OPTIMIZATION OF SEMICONDUCTOR NANOPARTICLE SYNTHESIS AND INTEGRATION INTO SOL-GEL MONOLITHSCONCLUSIONSThe research conducted thus far supports the idea that thegoal of a hydrogen generating device is a possibility. The cadmiumselenide semiconducting nanoparticles created had the desiredoptical properties theoretically necessary for the proposedarrangement in quantitative amounts for excellent efficiency.Also by modifying the buffer medium pH, reaction temperature,and solvent used in the accepted sol-gel monolith procedure,the successful formation of a nanoparticle loaded sol-gel matrixpushes the dream of the device closer to becoming a reality.REFERENCES1Jiang, S., L. An, D. Pan and B. Jiang. 2004. Controllable Synthesisof Highly Luminescent and Monodisperse CdS Nanocrystalsby a Two-Phase Approach under Mild Conditions. AdvancedMaterials. 16:982-985ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSClayton Shallcross, Graduate Student, Chemistry, University ofArizonaDr. Neal Armstrong, Professor, Chemistry, University of ArizonaDr. Scott Saavedra, Professor, Chemistry, University of ArizonaZhijie Sui, Post Doctorate, Chemistry, University of ArizonaSam Phimphivong, Graduate Student, Chemistry, University ofArizonaMuditha Senarathyapa, Graduate Student, Chemistry, Universityof ArizonaFunding provided by the Center on Materials and Devicesfor Information Technology Research (CMDITR), an NSF Scienceand Technology Center No. DMR 0120967Cindy Taylor will complete her studies at the University ofArizona in May 2006 and plans on pursuing a doctoral degreein Analytical Chemistry in the fall of the same year.110 CMDITR Review of Undergraduate Research Vol. 2 No. 1 Summer 2005