BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//jEvents 2.0 for Joomla//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VEVENT UID:35e326b1689ecbd5499ebc7d34b80bbc CATEGORIES:Colloquium CREATED:20220728T150839 SUMMARY:Professor Luis Echegoyen, University of Texas El Paso DESCRIPTION:
“Carbon-Based Compounds and Materials for Enhanced Sola r Cell Efficiencies and for Electrocatalytic Applications for Hydrogen Form ation”
Carbon-based chemical compounds and materials are relativel y inexpensive and very effective as selective Electron Transporting Layers (ETLs) in solar cells. Our work in this area has been primarily with buckmi nsterfullerene compounds, also called “buckyballs” or simply fullerenes, wh ich are pure-carbon cages that are excellent electron acceptors and 3D tran sporters. We have functionalized fullerenes in order to modulate and probe their specific interfacial interactions in perovskite solar cells to unders tand the details and to enhance the cell performance efficiencies. Pyridine -functionalized fullerenes were tested as ETLs, see picture, both as pure c ompounds as well as in combination with other ETL compounds in order to dis criminate their ability to extract electrons at the perovs kite interface and to transport the electrons through the bulk phase. Results clearly showed that the pyridine-functionalized compounds act as efficient electron extractors at the interface but are no t necessarily good electron transporters as a bulk phase.
In addition to regular fullerenes we have also worked wit h endohedral versions, carbon cages which encapsulate ions and/or atoms and clusters inside, stabilized by electronic interactions with the cages. The se nano-sized compounds, which we also call “Buckyball Maracas” due to thei r composition and structure, were recently shown to act as reasonably effic ient non-precious metal-containing molecular catalysts to effect the Hydrog en Evolution Reaction (HER), or water splitting, to produce hydrogen gas, s ee JACS cover. These are preliminary results and we are currently exploring the fundamental aspects of the HER with other endohedral fullerene compoun ds, both to understand the details and to increase their efficiencies.
< p>ReferencesHosted by Professor Jason Zhang
Hybrid semi
nar: On-site location is CCB-1303; for Zoom meeting information, please con
tact Loretta Lupo at
  ;
“Carbon-Based Compounds and Materials for Enhanced Solar Cell Efficiencies and for Electrocatalytic Ap plications for Hydrogen Formation”
Car bon-based chemical compounds and materials are relatively inexpensive and v ery effective as selective Electron Transporting Layers (ETLs) in solar cel ls. Our work in this area has been primarily with buckminsterfullerene comp ounds, also called “buckyballs” or simply fullerenes, which are pure-carbon cages that are excellent electron acceptors and 3D transporters. We have f unctionalized fullerenes in order to modulate and probe their specific inte rfacial interactions in perovskite solar cells to understand the details an d to enhance the cell performance efficiencies. Pyridine-functionalized ful lerenes were tested as ETLs, see picture, both as pure compounds as well as in combination with other ETL compounds in order to discriminate their abi lity to extract electrons at the perovskite interface and to transport the electrons through the bulk phase. Results clearly showed that the pyridine-functionalized compounds act as efficient electron extractors at the interface b ut are not necessarily good electron transporters as a bulk phase.
In addition to regular fullerenes we have also w orked with endohedral versions, carbon cages which encapsulate ions and/or atoms and clusters inside, stabilized by electronic interactions with the c ages. These nano-sized compounds, which we also call “Buckyball Maracas” du e to their composition and structure, were recently shown to act as reasona bly efficient non-precious metal-containing molecular catalysts to effect t he Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER), or water splitting, to produce hydrog en gas, see JACS cover. These are preliminary results and we are currently exploring the fundamental aspects of the HER with other endohedral fulleren e compounds, both to understand the details and to increase their efficienc ies.
References
[1] Olivia Fernandez-Delg
ado, P. S. Chandrasekhar, Natalia Cano, Zoe C. Simon, Alain. R. Puente-Sant
iago, Fang Liu, Edison Castro, and Luis Echegoyen, “The Role of Fullerene D
erivatives in Perovskite Solar Cells: Electron Transporting or Electron Ext
raction Layers?” J. Mater. Chem. C, 9, 10759 – 10767, 2021
.
[2] O. Fernandez-Delgado, A.R. Puente Santiago, J. Galindo Bet
ancourt, M.F. Sanad S. Sreenivsan, and L. Echegoyen, “Diazonium Functionali
zed Fullerenes: A New Class of Efficient Molecular Catalysts for the Hydrog
en Evolution Reactions,” Nanoscale, 2021.
[3] A
lain Puente Santiago, Mohamed Sanad, Antonio Moreno-Vicente, Md Ariful Ahsa
n, Maira Ceron, Yangrong Yao, Sreeprasad Sreenivasan, Antonio Rodriguez-For
tea, Josep Poblet and Luis Echegoyen, “A new class of molecular HER electro
catalysts: catalytic activity of M3N@C2n (C2n=68, 78, 80) fullerenes,” J. Am. Chem. Soc., 143(16), 6037-6042, 2021.
Hosted by Professor Jason Zhang
Hy
brid seminar: On-site location is CCB-1303; for Zoom meeting information, p
lease contact Loretta Lupo at