Electro-Optic Properties Of Transition-Metal Complex Films On Nanocrystalline Semiconductor Supports: Electrochromatic Windows And Solar Cells

Completed

Renewable Energy Sources(Solar Energy, Photovoltaics)

Basic and strategic applied research

PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Chemistry)
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Electrical and Electronic Engineering)

Not Cross-cutting

Professor LM Peter
Chemistry
University of Bath

Standard

EPSRC

01 June 2005

30 November 2008

42 months

£114,967

Materials sciences

South West

Photonic Materials -- Physical Sciences

Professor LM Peter, Chemistry, University of Bath

This project aims to exploit the optical properties of redox-active metal complexes in two distrinct types of electro-optic device. The first type of device is a near-infrared electrochromic window, in which an electrochromic complex based on a Ry of Os dioxolene fragment is attached to a nanocrystalline Sn02 film by opendant carboxylat groups as anchors. These complexes show in solution very strong changes in their absorption spectra in the NIR region; tranlating this behaviour onto thin films will generate rapidly-switchable films whose near-IR transmitance can be modulated by changing the applied potential. The second type of device is the Gratzel-type solar cell, but one based on anionic cyanoruthenate complexes as sensitiser. Complexes such as (Ru(bipy)(CN)4)2- ancho tightly to metal oxide surfaces without the neeed for additional anchoring groups such as carboxylate, and alternatives to the conventional cells based on bipy-dicarboxylate complexes. Underpinning the device fabrication and testing will be studies directed at defining new ways of preparing nanocrystallilne metal oxide semiconductors by techniques such as templating with surgactants and electro-deposition. Composite films (mixtures of metal oxides) will be examined, and the morphology and other strucural properties of these films will be studied in detail. The aim is to obtain films that combine high connectivity with high internal surface area, and which are optimised for their particular applications

01/01/07