Home > Press > University of Pennsylvania Material Scientists Turn Light Into Electrical Current Using a Golden Nanoscale System
Abstract:
Material scientists at the Nano/Bio Interface Center of the University of Pennsylvania have demonstrated the transduction of optical radiation to electrical current in a molecular circuit. The system, an array of nano-sized molecules of gold, respond to electromagnetic waves by creating surface plasmons that induce and project electrical current across molecules, similar to that of photovoltaic solar cells.
University of Pennsylvania Material Scientists Turn Light Into Electrical Current Using a Golden Nanoscale System
Philadelphia, PA | Posted on February 13th, 2010
The results may provide a technological approach for higher efficiency energy harvesting with a nano-sized circuit that can power itself, potentially through sunlight. Recently, surface plasmons have been engineered into a variety of light-activated devices such as biosensors.
It is also possible that the system could be used for computer data storage. While the traditional computer processor represents data in binary form, either on or off, a computer that used such photovoltaic circuits could store data corresponding to wavelengths of light.
Because molecular compounds exhibit a wide range of optical and electrical properties, the strategies for fabrication, testing and analysis elucidated in this study can form the basis of a new set of devices in which plasmon-controlled electrical properties of single molecules could be designed with wide implications to plasmonic circuits and optoelectronic and energy-harvesting devices.
Dawn Bonnell, a professor of materials science and the director of the Nano/Bio Interface Center at Penn, and colleagues fabricated an array of light sensitive, gold nanoparticles, linking them on a glass substrate. Minimizing the space between the nanoparticles to an optimal distance, researchers used optical radiation to excite conductive electrons, called plasmons, to ride the surface of the gold nanoparticles and focus light to the junction where the molecules are connected. The plasmon effect increases the efficiency of current production in the molecule by a factor of 400 to 2000 percent, which can then be transported through the network to the outside world.
In the case where the optical radiation excites a surface plasmon and the nanoparticles are optimally coupled, a large electromagnetic field is established between the particles and captured by gold nanoparticles. The particles then couple to one another, forming a percolative path across opposing electrodes. The size, shape and separation can be tailored to engineer the region of focused light. When the size, shape and separation of the particles are optimized to produce a "resonant" optical antennae, enhancement factors of thousands might result.
Furthermore, the team demonstrated that the magnitude of the photoconductivity of the plasmon-coupled nanoparticles can be tuned independently of the optical characteristics of the molecule, a result that has significant implications for future nanoscale optoelectronic devices.
"If the efficiency of the system could be scaled up without any additional, unforeseen limitations, we could conceivably manufacture a one-amp, one-volt sample the diameter of a human hair and an inch long," Bonnell said.
The study, published in the current issue of the journal ACS Nano, was conducted by Bonnell, David Conklin and Sanjini Nanayakkara of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Penn; Tae-Hong Park of the Department of Chemistry in the School of Arts and Sceicnes at Penn; Parag Banerjee of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Maryland; and Michael J. Therien of the Department of Chemistry at Duke University.
This work was supported by the Nano/Bio Interface Center, National Science Foundation, the John and Maureen Hendricks Energy Fellowship and the U.S. Department of Energy.
####
For more information, please click here
Contacts:
Media contact
Jordan Reese
215-573-6604
Copyright © University of Pennsylvania
If you have a comment, please
Contact us.
Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Bookmark:
News and information
Aspen Aerogels Announces $22.5 Million Private Placement May 18th, 2013
NanoInk, Inc. Assets To Be Sold May 18th, 2013
Beautiful "flowers" self-assemble in a beaker: Elaborate nanostructures blossom from a chemical reaction perfected at Harvard May 17th, 2013
Scientists capture first direct proof of Hofstadter butterfly effect May 17th, 2013
Govt.-Legislation/Regulation/Funding/Policy
Beautiful "flowers" self-assemble in a beaker: Elaborate nanostructures blossom from a chemical reaction perfected at Harvard May 17th, 2013
Artificial Forest for Solar Water-Splitting: Berkeley Lab Researchers Report First Fully Integrated Artificial Photosynthesis Nanosystem May 17th, 2013
Moth-Inspired Nanostructures Take the Color Out of Thin Films May 17th, 2013
NIA Public Briefing: Nanotechnology and the Council of Europe May 17th, 2013
Possible Futures
Lifeboat publishes its first book: The Lifeboat Foundation has published its first book, "The Human Race to the Future: What Could Happen -- and What to Do" May 14th, 2013
UC Santa Barbara History Professor's Book Elucidates, Celebrates ‘Visioneers' May 14th, 2013
Conceptual Nanomedical Lipofuscin Removal Strategy April 29th, 2013
The Global Desalination Market 2013-2023 April 24th, 2013
Memory Technology
RUB physicists let magnetic dipoles interact on the nanoscale for the first time: 'Of great technical interest for future hard disk drives' May 15th, 2013
UC Riverside scientists discovering new uses for tiny carbon nanotubes: Adding ionic liquid to nanotube films could build smaller gadgets, and create more cost effective 'Smart Windows' that darken in bright sun May 15th, 2013
Battery and Memory Device in One April 25th, 2013
NanoRosetta Kickstarter project - Printing and archiving the Human genome for the next 10,000 years using nanotech April 4th, 2013
Nanomedicine
Nanotechnology could help fight diabetes: Injectable nanogel can monitor blood-sugar levels and secrete insulin when needed May 16th, 2013
Nanobiotix Revenue for the 1st quarter of 2013 May 15th, 2013
Pitt Chemists Demonstrate Nanoscale Alloys So Bright They Could Have Potential Medical Applications: “Think about a particle that will not only help researchers detect cancer sooner but be used to treat the tumor, too.” May 15th, 2013
Using clay to grow bone: Researchers use synthetic silicate to stimulate stem cells into bone cells May 15th, 2013
Sensors
Advancements and developments of solid-state nanopores sensors May 16th, 2013
Imec and Renesas collaborate on ultra-low power short range radios: Collaboration will develop robust wireless solutions for future electronics May 16th, 2013
Physicists discover a new kind of friction: Friction in the nano-world May 16th, 2013
HELIOS Program Develops Complete Supply Chain for Integrating Photonics with CMOS Circuit via IC Fabrication Processes May 14th, 2013
Announcements
Aspen Aerogels Announces $22.5 Million Private Placement May 18th, 2013
NanoInk, Inc. Assets To Be Sold May 18th, 2013
NIA Public Briefing: Nanotechnology and the Council of Europe May 17th, 2013
Scientists capture first direct proof of Hofstadter butterfly effect May 17th, 2013
Energy
Artificial Forest for Solar Water-Splitting: Berkeley Lab Researchers Report First Fully Integrated Artificial Photosynthesis Nanosystem May 17th, 2013
Moth-Inspired Nanostructures Take the Color Out of Thin Films May 17th, 2013
Solar panels as inexpensive as paint? It’s possible due to research at UB, elsewhere May 13th, 2013
Flawed Diamonds Promise Sensory Perfection: Berkeley Lab researchers and their colleagues extend electron spin in diamond for incredibly tiny magnetic detectors May 10th, 2013
Nanobiotechnology
Artificial Forest for Solar Water-Splitting: Berkeley Lab Researchers Report First Fully Integrated Artificial Photosynthesis Nanosystem May 17th, 2013
Glowing Plant Kickstarter Project Retains Digital Marketing Agency, Command Partners: Glowing Plant brings on top Charlotte-based digital marketing firm to assist in crowdfunding campaign May 16th, 2013
DNA-Guided Assembly Yields Novel Ribbon-Like Nanostructures: Approach could be useful in fabricating new kinds of materials with engineered properties May 16th, 2013
Advancements and developments of solid-state nanopores sensors May 16th, 2013