Minimizing Scaling Losses in High-Performance Quantum Dot Luminescent Solar Concentrators for Large-Area Solar Windows.

While luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) have been researched for several decades, there is still a lack of commercially available systems, mostly due to scalability, performance, aesthetics, or some combination of these challenges. These obstacles can be overcome by the systematic optimization of a laminated glass LSC design, demonstrated herein. In particular, we first show that it is possible to improve optical and electrical efficiencies of an LSC by fine-tuned optimization of the constituent fluorophore-containing interlayer resin.

Synthetic Ligand Selection Affects Stoichiometry, Carrier Dynamics, and Trapping in CuInSe Nanocrystals.

CuInSe nanocrystals exhibit tunable near-infrared bandgaps that bolster utility in photovoltaic applications as well as offer potential as substitutes for more toxic Cd- and Pb-based semiconductor compositions. However, they can present a variety of defect states and unusual photophysics. Here, we examine the effects of ligand composition (oleylamine, diphenylphosphine, and tributylphosphine) on carrier dynamics in these materials.

An investigation into the potential for wind turbines to cause barotrauma in bats.

The high rates of bat mortality caused by operating wind turbines is a concern for wind energy and wildlife stakeholders. One theory that explains the mortality is that bats are not only killed by impact trauma, but also by barotrauma that results from exposure to the pressure variations caused by rotating turbine blades. To date, no published research has calculated the pressure changes that bats may be exposed to when flying near wind turbines and then used these data to estimate the likelihood that turbines cause barotrauma in bats.

Transient Lattice Response upon Photoexcitation in CuInSe Nanocrystals with Organic or Inorganic Surface Passivation.

CuInSe nanocrystals offer promise for optoelectronics including thin-film photovoltaics and printed electronics. Additive manufacturing methods such as photonic curing controllably sinter particles into quasi-continuous films and offer improved device performance. To gain understanding of nanocrystal response under such processing conditions, we investigate impacts of photoexcitation on colloidal nanocrystal lattices via time-resolved X-ray diffraction.

Silicon Nanocrystal Superlattice Nucleation and Growth.

Colloidal dodecene-passivated silicon (Si) nanocrystals were dispersed in hexane or chloroform and deposited onto substrates as face-centered cubic superlattices by slowly evaporating the solvent. The uniformity of the nanocrystals enables extended order; however, the solvent and the evaporation protocol significantly influence the self-assembly process, determining the morphology of the films, the extent of order, and the superlattice orientation on the substrate. Chloroform yielded superlattices with step-flow growth morphologies and (111), (100), and (110) orientations.

Bubble Assemblies of Nanocrystals: Superlattices without a Substrate.

A method was developed to create free-standing nanocrystal films in the form of solidified bubbles. Bubbles of octadecanethiol-capped gold nanocrystals were studied by in situ grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) to determine how the absence of an underlying substrate influences a disorder-order transition of a nanocrystal superlattice. We find that the presence of the substrate does not significantly change the nature of the disorder-order transition but does lead to reduced interparticle separation and reduced thermal expansion.

Synthesis of bis-α,α'-amino acids through diastereoselective bis-alkylations of chiral Ni(II)-complexes of glycine.

The Ni(II) complex derived from glycine Schiff base with (S)-N-(benzylprolyl)-2-aminobenzophenone can be effectively alkylated with α,ω-dibromide reagents to furnish the corresponding bis-alkylated products. This method presents a direct approach for the preparation of the corresponding bis-α,α'-amino acids with high biological importance. Heterogeneous (phase-transfer) as well as homogeneous conditions for the alkylation reactions have been investigated and the latter proved to be more efficient in terms of stereochemical outcome.