The School of Physical Sciences Center for Solar Energy, established March 1, 2007, is a Center that supports research aimed at increasing our understanding of how light from the sun can be converted into electrical and chemical energy. Presently, solar energy provides an insignificant fraction (<< 1%) of our overall energy needs and fundamental scientific breakthroughs will be required to change this status quo. Research within the School of Physical Sciences Center for Solar Energy will seek to identify and solve "bottlenecks" in fundamental science that impede our ability to carry out these energy conversion processes efficiently.
The research initiatives of the Center are lead by (left to right) Dean John Hemminger, Reg Penner, and Alan Heyduk, all of the UCI Department of Chemistry.
At its inception, the School of Physical Sciences Center for Solar Energy has three core research initiatives:
1) Direct Solar Thermal-to-Electrical Energy Conversion using Thermoelectric Nanowires - This project, directed by Prof. Reg Penner, will explore the use of nanowire-based thermoelectrics for the conversion of solar heat to electrical power. Professor Penner will also serve as the first director of the Center. [read more]
2) Metal-Semiconductor Hybrid Nanowires for Distributed Solar-to-Electrical Energy Generation - Composite nanowires, in which metal particles are connected by semiconductor segments, can efficiently collect and concentrate light while simultaneously effecting its conversion to electrical energy. This new paradigm will be investigated by the research groups of Professor John Hemminger in collaboration with that of Prof. Penner. [read more]
3) New Catalysts for Solar-Powered Photochemistry - The research group of Prof. Alan Heyduk will investigate an innovative new hypothesis for the design and construction of bimetallic molecular machines that use the sun's energy to catalyze the photolysis of water to produce hydrogen and oxygen gases. [read more]
