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Researchers in Australia have discovered a method for increasing the number of molecules that stick to the surface of tiny semiconductor nanocrystals. They say the breakthrough could significantly improve the efficiency and performance of solar panels.
Researchers at Curtin University in Western Australia have discovered that adjusting the shape of colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals allows them to control how these nanocrystals interact with their environment. This modification improves their effectiveness in a variety of applications, including solar cells.
Associate Professor Guohua Jia, from Curtin Universitys School of Molecular and Life Sciences, led the study, which examined how the shape of zinc sulfide (ZnS) nanocrystals influenced the ability of molecules, known as ligands, to attach to their surface.
According to Jia, ligands play an important role in controlling the behavior and performance of ZnS nanocrystals in optoelectronic devices, i.e. devices that produce light or use light to perform their functions, including solar cells.
“By adjusting the shape of these particles, we were able to control how they interacted with their environment and make them more efficient in various applications,” he explains.
The researchers found that flatter, more uniform particles, called nanoplatelets, allow more ligands to adhere firmly, compared with other shapes such as nanodots and nanorods, which can have staggered arrangements.
According to Jia, the discovery provides an important knob for tuning the chemical functionality of ZnS nanocrystals and could improve the performance of optoelectronic devices.
“The ability to control the shape of particles could revolutionize the efficiency and performance of products,” he says. “The ability to effectively manipulate light and electricity is critical to the advancement of faster, more efficient and more compact electronic systems. This includes LEDs, which convert electricity into light… as well as solar cells that convert light into electrical energy, powering devices using sunlight.”
Other devices that could be advanced by this discovery include photodetectors, which detect light and convert it into an electrical signal, such as in cameras and sensors, and laser diodes used in fiber optic communication, which convert electrical signals into light for data transmission.
The full study, “ Deciphering surface ligand density of colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals: Shape matters,” will be published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society . |
