Plasmonic Nanocrystals for Enhanced Hybrid Photon Upconversion
Abstract
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 and the Depai1ment of Defense (DoD) Appropriations Act for 2016 allocated S28M to assist Historical Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions (HBCU/MI). The program aims to (a) enhance research programs and capabilities in scientific and engineering disciplines critical to the national security functions of DoD; (b) enhance the capacity of HBCU/MI to participate in defense research programs and activities; and (c) increase the number of graduates, including under-represented minorities, in fields of science, technology engineering. and mathematics (STEM) that are important to the defense mission. The FY 2016 DoD HBCU/MI Research and Education Program Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) solicited proposals from single investigators at HBCUs and MIs s for the acquisition equipment and instrumentation in scientific areas important to one or more the three defense research offices, namely: Army Research Office (ARO); Office of Naval Research (ONR); and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR). All equipment/instrument grant awards made under this program will have a 12-month performance period. Prof. Ming Tang at the University of California - Riverside submitted a request to ARO for the purchase of an absorption spectrophotometer and nuclear magnetic resonai1ce spectrometer to directly support research aimed at using plasmonic nanocrystals to increase the photon upconversion efficiency of hyb1id semiconductor nanoc1ystal in conjugated organic systems. The aim is to integrate research in photon upconversion with a robust program of nanomaterials-based educational activities involving middle and high school students, undergraduates, and graduate students from traditionally under-represented populations in STEM disciplines. The research goal is to investigate how plasmonic nanocrystals can enhance photon upconversion in a hybrid nanocrystal molecule platform. Photon upconversion can potentially enhance the conversion of solar energy to elect1icity, while making multi-photon imaging cheaper and more accessible. It would make solar energy competitive with electricity from fossil fuels, and bioimaging in the near-infrared (NI R) window routine. Compared to existing upconversion systems, nanocrystals have larger absorption cross-sections, and easily tunable optical properties out to the NIR This proposal seeks to exploit the plasmonic properties of noble metal and doped semiconductor nanoparticles to enhance photon upconversion. Fundamental light-matter interactions will be studied. Firstly, both plasmonic and doped semiconductor nanocrystals will be synthesized colloidally. The strong near-field ld enhancement characte1istic of metal nanoparticles could potentially enhance light absorption by the nanoparticle sensitizer, or emission by U1e molecular annihilator Alternatively, resonance between the LSPR and the absorption/emission maxima could perturb the oscillator strength and hence radiative/absorption rates. The si lver or gold nanoparticles will be colloidally synthesized and covalently attached to the nanocrystals and molecules comprising this hybrid upconversion system. Their effect on photon upconversion will be characterized by the equipment purchased through this grant and through various steady-state and time-resolved optical measurements.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Mar 27, 2017
- Source ID
- W911NF1610523
Entities
People
- Ming Tang
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- Office of the Secretary of Defense
- University of California, Riverside