IGERT: Nanostructured Solar Cells: Materials, Processes, and DevicesIGERT: Nanostructured Solar Cells: Materials, Processes, and Devices((DGE-DGE- 09036850903685))

Mary Berry, Stanley May, Ranjit Koodali, The University of South DakotaMary Berry, Stanley May, Ranjit Koodali, The University of South DakotaDavid Galipeau, South Dakota State UniversityDavid Galipeau, South Dakota State University

Jon Kellar, South Dakota School of Mines and TechnologyJon Kellar, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

SDSM&T

USD

SDSU

Research is conducted within three interdisciplinary emphases:•Emphasis #1: Luminescent Solar Concentrators (LSC) •Emphasis #2: Excitonic Solar Cells (ESC)•Emphasis #3: Photoelectrochemical Cells (PEC)

Shared Coursework , Seminars, and Group Meetings are facilitated through video conferencing on the Access Grid (AG).

Schedule for upcoming AG Course OfferingsSpring 2011Printed Electronics: Materials and Processes (SDSM&T) Advanced Photovoltaics (SDSU) Fall 2011 Fundamentals of Photovoltaics (SDSU)Organic Electronics (SDSU)Spring 2012 Advanced Photovoltaics (SDSU) Synthesis and Characterization of Nanomaterials (USD)Fall 2012Luminescence of Materials (USD)Spring 2013Fundamentals of Photovoltaics (SDSU)Fall 2013Theory and Applications of Nanomaterials (SDSM&T)

Internships are provided through partnership with the National Center for Photovoltaics (NREL), Covidien (Mallinckrodt-Baker), General Atomics, and Radiance Corporation.

Educational Outreach: IGERT students design and execute educational outreach projects under the umbrella of the Northern Plains Undergraduate Research Center (NSF-URC), the Research Apprenticeship Program (NIH-BRIN), or SDSU’s Success Academy.

Acknowledgement: Thanks to NSF-IGERT, MRI, EPS, CHE(CRIF, URC, REU) for generous support for educational programs, instrumentation, and research infrastructure. Thanks to DoD and DOE and NSF for research support for the projects in which the IGERT trainees are engaged.Thanks to the South Dakota Governor's Office of Economic Development for significant investment in PANS/IGERT research infrastructure development.

Introduction to Research Workshop with students from Nebraska Indian Community College

IGERT student, Daren Davoux (SDSU, EE) intern with Radiance Technologies

The South Dakota IGERT on Nanostructured Solar Cells engaged its first cohort of nine students in Fall 2010. These students are part of a larger collaborative referred to as the Photo-Activated Nanoscale Systems (PANS) group, who met in Chamberlain, SD in June 2010 to first launch the IGERT program.

Pans All Investigator Meeting , June 2010

Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Group

FundamentalScience

Logue, Koodali, He, Yan,

Hoefelmeyer, Qiao

Enabling Technology

Galipeau, Baroughi, Bommisetty

SystemsGalipeau

Deliverable: New type of excitonic cell capable of increased light collection ability and novel charge transport materials.

Interaction with system end user

Research Iteration

Research Iteration

System Requirements

ESC FabricationSolar Cell Characterization

Dye research:• Synthesis of linked dyes• Evaluation of dye molecules

Charge conductors:• Hole transport materials.• TiO2 fabrication

Organization plan for the DSSC group in the ESC emphasis.

Bulk Heterojunction with TiO2 Aerogels600 nm

600 nm

600 nm

600 nm

(a)

(b)

(a) Pure TiO2 (b) CuPc/TiO2

Electron donator& hole transporter

Electron acceptor& electron transporter

ITO

Au

e-h+

Electron donator& hole transporter

Electron acceptor& electron transporter

ITO

Au

e-h+

Bulk Hetero-junction

Ti(OC4H9)4/EtOH

Ti(OC4H9)4/EtOH/(HOCH2CH2)2N

PH 7.5 sol

Dried at 120 0C at vacuum(or sintered at >400 0C)

Nanostructured TiO2 film

Microwave association

TiO2 sol-gel

Spin coating on ITO glass

(HOCH2CH2)2N

H2O

Ti(OC4H9)4/EtOH

Ti(OC4H9)4/EtOH/(HOCH2CH2)2N

PH 7.5 sol

Dried at 120 0C at vacuum(or sintered at >400 0C)

Nanostructured TiO2 film

Microwave association

TiO2 sol-gel

Spin coating on ITO glass

(HOCH2CH2)2N

H2O

Preparation of nano-structured TiO2 for photoanodes

400 600 800 10000

20

40

60

80

100

(b)

Tra

nsm

ittan

ce (

%)

Wavelength (nm)

A DSSC project for phthalocyanine sensitization of high surface area TiO2

Highly crystalline NaYF4:Yb, Er up-conversion nanocrystals in solution, in monoliths, and as thin films.

Collaboration is enhanced by student inter-campus, interdisciplinary lab rotations. Students spend one semester in a collaborators laboratory working on complementary aspects of their dissertation project.

Rob Anderson from SDSM&T models up-conversion dynamics at USD.