Molecular and Nanostructured Semiconductors—Unique Opportunities for Light Harvesting and Light Emission

The presence of excitons in organic, molecular, and nanocluster materials offer new opportunities for low-cost photovoltaics (PV) and light-emitting systems and provide prospects for unique energy applications. In the first part of the talk, I will introduce our pioneering work on developing transparent photovoltaics (TPV) and transparent luminescent solar concentrators (TSLC) that are creating new paradigms for solar harvesting. These devices are specifically enabled by the manipulation of excitonic semiconductor materials with selective and tuneable harvesting in the near-infrared and ultraviolet components of the solar spectrum. I will discuss key photophysical properties, outline the thermodynamic and practical limits to these new classes of materials and devices, and discuss their optimization and commercialization for a range of applications from buildings to agricultural spaces. I will also outline key protocols necessary to accurately characterize TPVs and TLSCs. In the second part of the talk, I will describe our work on developing phosphorescent nanocluster based light emitting diodes and describe the role of cation/halogen/ligand substitutions on the electroluminescent properties. These inorganic phosphorescent emitters are based on metal halide nanoclusters and nanocluster salts, which have high stability, high abundance, and high quantum yield, and therefore have strong potential as a low cost alternative to organic phosphorescent emitters in a range of applications