Grantee Research Project Results
Final Report: Capturing Solar Energy with Quantum Dots
EPA Grant Number: SU839964Title: Capturing Solar Energy with Quantum Dots
Investigators: Lombardini, Richard , Khon, Dmitriy , Galeas, Bryan , Ramos, Sebastian Castro , Feagins, David
Institution: St Marys University
EPA Project Officer: Callan, Richard
Phase: I
Project Period: October 1, 2019 through September 30, 2020 (Extended to September 30, 2021)
Project Amount: $23,780
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet (2019) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: P3 Awards , P3 Challenge Area - Air Quality
Objective:
We aim to develop a more efficient luminescent solar concentrator (LSC) using a combination of two different heavy-metal-free quantum dots, InP (IP) and CuInSexS2-x (CISeS). Individually, these quantum dots (QDs) have been engineered to be used in LSCs as fluorophores due to their absorption and emission spectra profiles. When mixed, they may increase LSC efficiency further due to the energy exchange between dot-types known as Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET). Ultimately, we want to determine the optimal weight percentages (wt%) of each of these types of QDs in a mixture that will maximize energy transfer leading to an enhanced LSC efficiency. This two-year long project can be divided into three subcomponents all contributing to the overall goal stated above: experimental synthesis and spectral analysis of QD species, computational modeling of LSC efficiency, and education over the three pillars of sustainability that allow humanity and nature to coexist harmoniously.
Conclusions:
Experimental Synthesis and Spectral Analysis of QD Species:
We found that non-toxic CuInS (CIS) QDs of varying sizes created by varying nucleation times during synthesis could be candidates as a FRET donor-acceptor (D-A) pair. The large spectroscopic range dependent on QD size makes them prime candidates for using FRET as a possible mode of energy transfer that could be used to develop more efficient LSCs. For example, small CIS QDs (5-minute nucleation) could act as Ds and large CIS QDs (25-minute nucleation) could act as As.
Computational Modeling of LSC Efficiency:
To help industries cut costs and work more efficiently, we have found that the efficiency of CIS QDs in LSCs can be easily computationally modeled using a Monte Carlo-based algorithm. It is possible, with little computational power, to get estimates on QD concentrations that produce the highest LSC efficiency without expending large financial resources in trial-and-error development. In particular, we measured the efficiency by calculating the percent solar-averaged optical efficiency n which is the ratio of the number of photons that reach photovoltaic cells over the total number of photons incident on the LSC averaged over the whole wavelength spectrum. Our simulations found that CIS QDs synthesized with a 20-minute nucleation time provided the largest n at 9.57%.
Education Over the Three Pillars of Sustainability:
Using the EPA’s sustainability primer, upper-level physics majors were able to compose robust arguments for certain solutions to environmental problems in the form of an end-of-semester written report. The following report titles were submitted at the end of the Spring and Fall 2020 semesters: Metal Organic Frameworks and Electromagnetic Metamaterials as Potential Technologies for Fuel Cells, Molten Chloride Fast Reactor for Alternative Applications, Water Pollution and How to Combat Ocean Waste, Hydrometallurgical Recycling of Lead Batteries, Degradation of Organic Pollutants in Aquatic Environments, Quantum Computer Simulation of Catalyst Molecules, Light Pollution and LEDs, Quantum Dot Applications in Propanil Detection, Nuclear Fusion and the Global Warming Crisis, and Clearing Away Space Trash with Lasers.
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 1 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
energy conservation, alternative energy source, solar energy, renewable energy, photovoltaic technology, nanotechnology, computational simulations, computer modelsRelevant Websites:
2021 P3 Expo - Capturing Solar Energy with Quantum Dots
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.