Engineering New Nanostructured Materials for Tunable Light-Matter Interactions

工程新型纳米结构材料可调节光-物质相互作用

• 批准号: RGPIN-2017-06405
• 负责人: Kherani, Nazir
• 金额: $ 3.42万
• 依托单位: University of Toronto
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2018-01-01 至 2019-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=655459
• 关键词: Engineering; New; Nanostructured; Materials; Tunable

Nanomaterials engineering presents a rich venue for the development of new materials with unique functionalities amenable to a variety of applications – computing, communications, sensing, and energy – to name a few. This abundance of possibilities arises from the fact that at the nanoscale, size shape and structure play a significant role in determining material properties and associated phenomena - in addition to composition. One exciting field of study is that of light-matter interactions at the nanoscale, and in particular, lines of inquiry motivated by the objective of developing effective means of harnessing light energy.******Considering that the unremitting rays of the sun bathe the globe in light energy at an average power level of ~89,000 TW* – some three orders beyond our present global energy consumption rate of ~20 TW and where the latter is principally comprised of depleting fossil fuels – it clearly behooves us to develop the next generation of materials and devices that can effectively tap this light energy – generating electricity and solar fuels, daylighting, heating and cooling – and thus advancing the vision of realizing a sustainable society.******Dr. Kherani's research program is to develop new nanomaterials with a high degree of compositional, structural and size control that will enable the attainment of desired light-matter interaction in devices that harvest and control light energy, as well as allied emergent devices in the fields of sensing, imaging and photonics in general. Advances in tunable nanomaterials capable of enhanced interaction with visible, infrared, and mid-infrared radiation can lead to new paradigms—enabling effective conversion of solar and thermal radiation into electrical energy, and efficient utilization of light energy through facile control over the flow of visible and invisible light energy (for example, through windows). Further, rationally designed nanomaterials can also be applied for photoactive applications including smart photo-thermo-response optical devices, photocatalytic generation of solar fuels (for example, hydrogen and hydrocarbon fuels from solar energy) and artificial photosynthesis.******________________****While this is the total power flux, the technical potential of electricity generation is ~7,500 TW and that for solar fuels (hydrogen production) is ~2,500 TW; the latter estimates include 30% and 10% photovoltaic and photochemical conversion efficiencies, respectively. These figures also account for the generally inaccessible oceans and frigid poles.

纳米材料工程为开发具有独特功能的新材料提供了丰富的场所，可容纳各种应用程序（计算，通信，感应和能量），仅举几例。这种可能性的抽象源于以下事实：除组成外，在纳米级，大小和结构在确定材料特性和相关现象中起着重要作用。一个令人兴奋的研究领域是纳米级的光线相互作用，尤其是通过开发有效的手段来利用光能的目的而动机的询问线。 - 显然，我们应该开发下一代的材料和设备，这些材料和设备可以有效地利用这种轻能的能量 - 产生电力和太阳能燃料，日光，加热和冷却，从而促进实现可持续社会的愿景。 Kherani的研究计划是开发具有高度组成，结构和尺寸控制的新纳米材料，这将使在收获和控制光能的设备中尝试进行所需的光 - 材料相互作用，以及在一般情况下感应，想象和光子学领域中相关的新兴设备。通过增强与可见的，红外和中红外辐射的相互作用，也可以应用高级纳米材料进行光活性，可以导致新的范式，从而有效地将太阳能和热辐射转化为电能，并有效地利用光能通过可见的和不知不见的光能通过宽敞的光能控制（例如，通过Windows）来实现光能。此外，理性设计的纳米材料还可以用于光活动应用，包括智能的光电响应光学设备，太阳能燃料的光催化产生（例如，来自太阳能的氢和碳氢化合物燃料）和人工光合作用。太阳能燃料（氢生产）约为2,500 TW；后一个估计分别包括30％和10％的光伏和光化学转化效率。这些数字还解释了通常无法接近的海洋和冰冷的杆子。