The current focus of material development in the field of organic bulk heterojunction solar cells is on donor-acceptor type low-bandgap materials, since their extended red to near-infrared absorption allows them to harvest a larger fraction of the solar illumination, allowing larger photocurrents to be potentially obtained.

We have combined ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy with optical microscopy to study the charge carrier dynamics in semiconductor nanowires with both spatial and temporal resolution. Photoexcited charge carriers are produced at a localized spot within a single nanowire by a focused femtosecond pump pulse.

In the last decade, the constant reduction in size and the growing number of material interfaces in electronic or optoelectronic devices (such as MQW-LEDs, organic or inorganic solar cells, ...) has boosted the impact of the intrinsic disorder present at smaller scales of materials. This disorder can originate from compositional inhomogeneities, from interface roughness or from lattice defects.

For almost every action we take in our lives today, we receive the benefit of 250 years of industrial revolution, which has been arguably the most remarkable period of human history. Our global economy and our prosperity grew exponentially, and our population grew ten fold. The industrial revolution has been largely about how we sourced, distributed and used energy. It was and continues to be predominantly based on fossil energy.

Materials with nanoscale dimensions often exhibit novel optical and electronic properties that could improve the performance of optoelectronic and electrochemical systems; however, transport in solids made of these materials remains poorly understood, leaving significant room for improvement in the way these materials are integrated into devices.

Join us for a balanced discussion on unconventional gas and oil, including its impact on the economy and environment and its overall influence on the energy landscape of the future. Program will include an introductory reel of video clips representing the range of perspectives on unconventional gas and oil, a moderated discussion and audience Q&A.

Panelists:

Graphene is the ultimate two-dimensional material consisting of a single layer of sp2 hybridized carbon. Here we explore different approaches to synthesize this carbon allotrope, ranging from chemical conversion to vapor phase deposition. Briefly, graphite can be converted into graphene oxide (GO) sheets, which readily disperse in water, and then can be reduced by various methods.

The ability to predict a variety of important thermodynamic and kinetic properties of electrode and electrolyte materials from first principles is providing opportunities to explore and design new battery concepts. Electrochemical energy storage at its core relies on the ability to convert the energy released or consumed by the formation or breaking of chemical bonds into electrical work.

The exploration and understanding of the crystallization, growth and the orientation of organic molecules on substrates is a very important feature in fundamental as well as applied research in the various fields of organic electronic device research. It is well known that the ordering and orientation of organic molecules significantly affects the electronic structure and transport properties, and the anisotropy of the transport properties in organic semiconductor thin films in particular has to be taken into account.

Meeting our future global energy needs in an environmentally responsible way is perhaps the greatest challenge facing the world in the twenty first century.