Innovative research designed to make organic solar cells more efficient has earned UNLV Assistant Professor of Chemistry Dong-Chan Lee a prestigious CAREER award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). This competitive award is the highest honor bestowed by the United States Government on scientists and engineers beginning their independent careers.
Lee will receive $484,000 over a five-year term to support his ongoing research to develop new organic n-type semiconductor nanomaterials, the lack of which is currently considered a major obstacle to organic solar cell optimization.
The current highest power conversion efficiency of organic solar cells is approximately five to six percent, significantly lower than that of the more traditional silicon solar cells. However, because organic solar cells are lightweight, thin, flexible, and promise high cost-efficiency, they are more practical for use in mobile electronic devices and, in the longer term, on architectural structures. Before that can occur, however, scientists agree that the conversion efficiency for organic solar cells needs to almost double--a goal that researchers have been targeting for years.
"In order for us to overcome our current and future energy challenges, we need to improve the technologies we use to harness our vast solar resources," Lee says. "Optimizing the efficiency of organic solar cells through synthetic chemistry will be a significant step toward expanding our current energy portfolio. I am grateful to the National Science Foundation for recognizing my potential to help accomplish that goal."
Lee's research seeks to increase the efficiency of organic solar cells by simultaneously addressing two of the most limiting factors in their performance--scarcity of useful n-type molecules and challenges in controlling nanostructure morphologies.
"By solving these two problems through the design of new and improved nanostructures, we can create new architectures for organic solar cells that enhance charge transport and, ultimately, device performance," Lee says.
Lee's NSF CAREER grant also includes an educational outreach component, during which he will initiate a partnership between UNLV and the Clark County School District. Over the course of the grant, Lee will provide summer internship opportunities in his lab for students from Basic High School in Henderson and launch a summer research program for high school science teachers. He will also recruit, train, and mentor several graduate and undergraduate students from the College of Sciences to help work on the research project.
"Dong-Chan's outstanding research program offers the promise of more efficient energy use for Nevada and the nation," said Wanda Taylor, interim dean of UNLV"s College of Sciences. "UNLV students are fortunate to find such an accomplished and dedicated scientist in their classroom."
Lee earned undergraduate and master's degrees from Kyungpook National University in South Korea and a Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. Prior to coming to UNLV in 2005, Lee was a postdoctoral research associate and research scientist at the University of Chicago.
Lee joins professors Brian Hedlund and Frank Van Breukelen from the School of Life Sciences, and Chulsung Bae from the Chemistry Department as the fourth CAREER Award recipient in as many years at UNLV.
