Prof. Yasuhiro Tachibana, RMIT University

Semiconductor Quantum Dots for Solar Light Energy Conversion

Physical Chemistry Seminar Series

Solar light energy conversion devices such as photovoltaics have been recognized as an alternative or ultimate energy source to fulfill our increasing energy demand. Current solar cell technologies have been developed mainly with silicon, however there still remains great improvement with their efficiency and cost, in order to replace fossil energy, i.e. oil or coals. Solar cells to fulfill such requirements are categorized as next generation solar cells. The fundamental approaches to develop next generation solar cells are (i) to introduce economically viable materials and fabrication methods, and (ii) to design the cell structure on nanometer scales for efficiency improvement.

In this seminar, our recent developments for semiconductor quantum dots and solar cells based on their hybrid structures, particularly semiconductor quantum dot sensitized films, will be introduced. Transient absorption spectrometers were employed to monitor the kinetic changes under different experimental conditions. Following comparison between the kinetic data and the solar cell efficiency, the key structural parameters will be addressed for improvement of solar cell performance.

For more information contact Prof. Mostafa El-Sayed (404-894-0292).