2011 — 2014 |
Boukai, Akram Tuteja, Anish |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
All Inorganic Plasmon-Enhanced Photovoltaics With Eutectic Composition @ University of Michigan Ann Arbor
Institution: University of Michigan Ann Arbor Title: All Inorganic Plasmon-Enhanced Photovoltaics with Eutectic Composition
Intellectual Merit
Most silicon-based photovoltaic devices require pure crystalline silicon as the base material, which is costly to produce through current crystal growth processes. Crystal growth of lamellar heterojunctions via eutectic solidification of earth-abundant materials (e.g. silicon, magnesium, iron) has the potential to circumvent the costly crystallization processes used to purify the silicon feedstock, and allow for enhanced minority carrier collection. Ultimately, this will result in low-cost solar cells based on earth-abundant materials. In addition, the manufacture of bulk nanostructured crystals by eutectic solidification can be accomplished at a scale commensurate with that of pure crystalline silicon used in current photovoltaic devices.
The proposed research will focus on the growth and characterization of low cost, and high efficiency plasmon-enhanced heterojunction solar cells through eutectic solidification and block copolymer nanolithography. Eutectic solidification causes the self assembly of lamellar or rod-like domains with length scales from hundreds of nanometers to micrometers, which are ideal for the efficient extraction of minority carriers in metallurgical grade (impure) materials. To date, no inorganic solar cells have been constructed with eutectic composition. It is expected that earth abundant, metallurgical grade materials with eutectic composition, combined with plasmon-enhanced optical absorption, could possibly lead to the development of a new class of low-cost and high efficiency thin film solar cells.
The proposed research will study the controlled growth and electrical doping of bulk crystals of impure silicide−silicon heterojunctions with nanostructured eutectic composition in an induction furnace, and characterize the nanostructured crystal structure and minority carrier diffusion length of these materials. The nanostructured eutectic materials will then be integrated into working solar cell devices. The effects of nanostructured eutectic material composition and lamellar heterojunction spacing on solar cell efficiency will be studied to gain fundamental understanding of the device performance. Plasmonic materials will also be incorporated into these devices to enhance light absorption, leading to potentially higher solar energy conversion efficiency. These plasmonic materials include highly ordered arrays of silver nanoparticles generated by block copolymer nanolithography.
Broader Impacts
The proposed education and outreach activities seek to increase the numbers of underrepresented minorities to enter science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Several hands-on demonstrations, featuring batteries and solar cells, will be made available to students at Cass Technical High School in downtown Detroit, Michigan. Two top-performing high school students will be selected to participate in the proposed research during the summer. Outreach efforts also include participation in a five-week, Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program that encourages junior high students to pursue careers in the sciences.
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0.979 |
2014 — 2019 |
Tuteja, Anish |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Career: Wettability Engendered Templated Self-Assembly (Wets) For Large Scale Multi-Phasic Nanoparticle Fabrication @ University of Michigan Ann Arbor
This Early Faculty Career Development (CAREER) Program award provides funding for the large scale, facile and cost-effective manufacturing of a range of different monodisperse, multi-phasic, organic, micro- and nanoparticles possessing virtually any size, shape, and chemistry using a novel and facile technique termed WETS (Wettability Engendered Templated Self-assembly). Although, different routes to fabricate bi-phasic (Janus) or tri-phasic particles have been explored in the recent past, a simple technique that allows for the manufacture of mono-disperse, multi-phasic particles of any desired chemical composition, with precise control over their geometries, has not been developed thus far. This project plans to use the WETS technique to fabricate a wide variety of such nanoparticles of complex shapes and sizes as small as 20 nm. A goal is to produce nanoparticles that are below 50 nm to benefit from the unique properties available at that scale. Other objectives include (i) fabrication of a prototype system for automated, rapid, large-scale manufacturing, (ii) studying the self-assembly of the synthesized multiphasic particles under a variety of environmental conditions, (iii) understanding the effects of nanoparticle addition on the rheological and thermal properties of different polymer melts, and (iv) testing the suitability of the novel biodegradable multiphasic nanoparticles for targeting and killing ovarian and breast cancer cells.
If successful, this work will allow for the manufacturing of a range of different multi-phasic organic nanoparticles on a very large scale that will impact a wide range of fields including, polymer nanocomposites, semiconductor technology, drug delivery, biotechnology, energy, chemical and biological detection. The outreach and educational activities of the project are motivated by the PI's commitment to increasing the number of underrepresented minorities in STEM disciplines. The activities include conducting a five week "Saturday Engineering Exploration" program for middle school students, multiple hands-on demonstrations for high-school students, recruiting of undergraduates and a graduate student in the research, and incorporating this work in different undergraduate and graduate courses.
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0.979 |
2021 — 2024 |
Rodriguez-Hornedo, Nair (co-PI) [⬀] Larson, Ronald (co-PI) [⬀] Shtein, Max [⬀] Tuteja, Anish Mehta, Geeta (co-PI) [⬀] |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Efri Dchem: Distributed Manufacturing of Personalized Medicines @ Regents of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
On a dollar per mass basis, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are perhaps the most valuable chemicals in the world, and yet much of the mass of APIs in drugs taken is not absorbed in the body, entering the water supply and potentially harming human health and the environment. At the same time, despite rapid advances in the science of personalized medicine, and digital, additive manufacturing, the trillion-dollar-per-year pharmaceutical industry retains its century-old manufacturing processes and uses supply chain and distribution models that are potentially prone to tampering, contamination, and disruption. To address this problem, researchers and drug manufacturers have begun developing 3D printing approaches, as well as techniques borrowed from other industries (e.g. thin-film coatings) for drug formulation, dose customization, and release profile engineering. However, fundamental challenges remain with material compatibilities, ingredient dispersion in solvents or matrix materials, process control, and scalability. This fundamental research project aims to address these challenges by converging several new breakthroughs in additive manufacturing, molecular and crystallization modeling, surface science and engineering, and patient-specific in vitro disease models. This project will train students of diverse backgrounds, including women and minorities, and those concerned with patient care and safety, public health, drug costs, regulatory law and practices.
This fundamental research project will introduce a radically new approach to drug formulation and distributed manufacturing, offering new means of controlling crystalline structure, cocrystallization, and adaptation to different delivery vehicles. Currently, predictive model-based process design for organic crystallization processes is still in relative infancy. Likewise, processes for cocrystallization require further work to systematize coformer selection and prediction of conditions for cocrystal formation. The novel, solvent-free process used here offers possibilities for developing novel pharmaceutical cocrystallization research tools, as well as a path to scalable cocrystal manufacturing. The technology platform of controlled surface wettability patterns to enable low-cost dissolution assays, combined with the organoid assays will create new paradigms for on-site validation and control of product quality, which will be particularly beneficial in a distributed manufacturing setting. The organoid assays used could enable rapid testing of new medications in more realistic cellular microenvironments prior to human trials. This research will facilitate the path to accelerating the time from drug development to manufacturing and distribution, and help prevent potentially dangerous by-products or contaminants from reaching patients.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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0.979 |