Natural photosynthesis is carried out by organized assemblies of photoreceptors and catalysts within proteins that provide specifically tailored environments to optimize solar energy conversion. The primary goal of our research in this field is to understand the fundamental principles needed to carry out solar energy conversion using an integrated molecular system. These principles include how to promote and control: 1) energy capture, charge separation, and long-range directional energy and charge transport, 2) coupling of these photo-generated charges to �lectrodes in solar cells and to multi-electron catalysts for fuel synthesis, and 3) supramolecular self-assembly for scalable, low-cost processing from the nanoscale to the macroscale. This lecture will describe our use of ultrafast optical spectroscopy and time-resolved EPR spectroscopy to understand charge transport in self-assembled nanostructures designed for efficient light capture, long-lived charge separation, and transport of those charges through nanostructures incorporating a variety of robust dyes and associated redox agents.

Photoinduced charge transport in self-assembled nanostructures for solar energy conversion

246th National Meeting (2013)

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