Nanocrystal thin film solar cells
Group Members:  Yang Wang
Motivated by the urgency of seeking energy substitutes to fossil resources, we are interested in the nanosemiconductor thin film solar cells. Nanosemiconductors (NSCs) are a good balance between the high cost of single-crystal silicon solar cells (the 1st generation) and the low efficiency of organic thin film solar cells (the 2nd generation). They offer the advantages of 1) the bandgaps and absorption ranges of NSCs can be well controlled in their synthesis by controlling their sizes and shapes, according to the well-known quantum confinement effect; 2) the surfaces of NSCs can be constructively functionalized to serve as building blocks in self-assembling structures, or any other potential applications; 3) the NSCs can be incorporated with conductive polymers or other materials to fabricate hybrid devices, like NSCs-sensitized solar cells.
Collaborators:    Prof. Ron Naaman, www.weizmann.ac.il/chemphys/cinaaman/home.html
                         Prof.  David N. Beratan, www.chem.duke.edu/~beratan/