Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

This Discovery project will focus on the synthesis of well ordered heterojunction metal oxide nanomaterials and their polymer nanocomposites using new ""green"" techniques in sol-gel and polymer synthesis. These 3-D ordered inorganic-organic structures have solar energy applications in photovoltaics (PV), photocatalytic devices, and films that control light and heat for next generation PV encapsulants and smart greenhouse films. Our synthetic approach will examine how supercritical fluids, primarily supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2), can be used for developing these structures and subsequent microfabrication. This ""zero"" surface tension tuneable solvent allows for the synthesis of unique 1-D metal oxide nanostructures of various morphologies including nanowires, fibers and tubes. We have recently discovered a one-pot synthesis route where nanometal oxides can be formed from inert liquid components through reaction and self-assembly steps. In the same reactor, quantum dot nanocrystals (QDs) and polymers (co and ter) such as fluoropolymers can be directly attached to the ceramic nanomaterials, and subsequently deposited as thin films. This transformative technology using a green solution based approach provides the potential to make these advanced materials at previously unobtainable low costs, although significant scientific and engineering challenges remain. How to control the morphologies of these structures and how dopants can be integrated into the molecular framework will be explored using in situ FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. Growing doped Ti and Zn oxides from ITO glass from QD seed crystals in scCO2 will be examined to provide aligned nanotubular structures. These structures can provide orthogonalization for higher efficiency PVs, and simultaneous photocatalysis and separation for next generation photocatalytic devices and self-cleaning anti-bacterial surfaces. In addition, these novel inorganic-organic hybrids will be cast/extruded into optical films for next generation PV encapsulants and smart greenhouse films that control light using the QDs, and heat using silica nanogels while the nanotubes act as monomer resevoirs for a new approach in self-healing polymers.