Nanostructured Organic Photovoltaics from Contorted Coronenes

ChEMS Seminar

Featuring Alon A. Gorodetsky, Ph.D.

Nuckolls Group

Department of Chemistry

Columbia University

Abstract:

Dr. Gorodetsky will discuss his groups efforts toward efficient organic photovoltaics that take advantage of the complementary geometry of contorted donor and spherical acceptor molecules. They have designed, synthesized, and characterized a new class of contorted donor materials. These molecules demonstrate many favorable properties, such as environmentally sensitive shape-shifting, templated assembly of organic/organic interfaces, and the formation of crystalline three-dimensional networks. The supramolecular self-assembly properties of our materials have enabled us to fabricate devices with power conversion efficiencies that approach state-of-the-art values for small molecule organic photovoltaics. Their findings may hold important implications for inexpensive and efficient solar energy conversion technologies.

About the Speaker:

Alon A. Gorodetsky, Ph.D.,is an American Competitiveness in Chemistry Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Prof. Colin Nuckolls at Columbia University, where his research focuses on the development of nanostructured surfaces for organic photovoltaics and biological sensing. In 2008, he completed his PhD in Chemistry under the supervision of Prof. Jacqueline K. Barton at the California Institute of Technology. During his doctoral work, he investigated self-assembled DNA monolayers as sensitive platforms for the electrical detection of DNA binding enzymes. Prior to this, he received his undergraduate degrees in Materials Science and Engineering Physics from Cornell University, where he studied transition metal complex-based electroluminescent devices in the laboratory of Prof. George Malliaras.