Welcome to ASU MRSEC Network:
Materials for Energy Harvest, Storage and Conversion

Because of peaking oil production, environmental degradation, and global warming, sustainability is capturing the imagination of the American public. But to efficiently and sustainably (1) harvest, (2) store, and (3) convert energy back into usable form on a terawatt scale, many large technological barriers must be surmounted. Solar energy is abundant and is the only source of renewable energy capable of meeting all of society’s needs, but it is diffuse. These topics have long been subjects of research; yet significant advances in all three areas are essential if realistic solutions to these problems are to be found.  We offer here some fresh approaches.  Three IRGs address questions of basic science in new ways that can help resolve key challenges in each of these technologies:

IRG-I Power Generation:

New Materials for Photovoltaics (PVs): We propose a framework to synthesize and investigate a new generation of inorganic thin films, based on the II-IV-V chalcopyrite family. Research is strongly focused on developing a basic understanding of film synthesis and electron transport mechanisms in these systems. Our ultimate objective is to develop a new kind of tandem thin-film PV cell. This path offers a realistic chance of attaining a new device that is both efficient and low-cost, and is constructed from abundant materials.  The bulk of the 700 tonnes of In mined today is used in indium tin oxide coatings on flat panel displays. If In becomes in short supply, PV applications that use it may not be able to compete for resources with the flat panel display market, which has a much more elastic cost margin.

We will develop efficient bio-inspired catalysts to reduce CO2, as the key step in a process to convert CO2 into a compact fuel such as methane. These enzymic catalysts are based on new kinds of porphyrin-peptide complexes. A fundamentally novel approach to catalyst discovery will be developed that combines combinatorial methods coupled with high-level theoretical modeling.

We propose basic research in electrochemistry of new kind of electrolytes based on protic ionic liquids, instead of the aqueous solutions used today.  Our final aim will be to develop a new type of fuel cell based on an original membraneless architecture developed by one of the PI’s.   Successful outcome of this research includes efficient fuel cells that do not require Pt. Pt is a rare element, and it is unlikely that enough raw material is available to serve in fuel cell catalysts at the terawatt scale.

Seed Projects:
The IRGs will be augmented by two seed projects. One involves adding transition metal complexes to organic semiconductors, which tune the electronic states and transport properties, and can potentially surmount some key deficiencies in existing organic PV technology.  Another other is a theory project that will investigate the feasibility of novel, but little explored ideas to circumvent the Shockley-Queisser limit of a standard single junction solar cell.

Guidance from Theory:
All IRGs share in common materials properties related to the energetics of chemical processes, or excited-state electronic properties.  Both kinds ultimately derive from the Schrodinger equation, and are amenable in principle to modeling with first-principles methods.  Each IRG has a heavy theory component, which employs the most recent and advanced methods available. Also, significant enhancements to both the range and accuracy of these theories will be developed, so that they can be truly helpful guides to the ambitious aims of this MRSEC.

Infrastructure & Facilities: 
The School of Materials, where the center will be headquartered, is a multidisciplinary materials science and engineering program offering students courses that will be directly applicable to MRSEC research projects. Additionally, new courses and programs are planned in conjunction with other campus institutes. They include the Global institute of Sustainability (GIOS) that conducts research, education and problem-solving related to sustainability and the urban environments; the School of Sustainability that adopts a transdisciplinary collaborative learning approach to sustainability issues; the Biodesign Institute conducting research in the health fields and the environment; and the NSEC/Center for Nanotechnology in Society, which studies the broader societal implications of scientific research.  The MRSEC will utilize some of the most comprehensive and advanced instrumentation available in a University environment, housed in facilities such as the Center for Solid State Electronics (CSSER) and the Leroy Eyring Center for Solid State Sciences (LE-CSS). The state of Arizona and its rapidly growing solar manufacturing base is a natural home for this MRSEC and its planned industry interactions. It includes partnerships and collaborations with several companies and labs, including the National Renewable Energy Lab, Boeing, JPL, and Combinatrix. Finally, the MRSEC leadership team was chosen both for its high reputation and relevance to this project. This choice, together with the careful selection of project themes, lends the proposal considerable intellectual and academic depth and stature with a realistic chance for a successful outcome. 

Intellectual Merit:
An ASU MRSEC with an emphasis on renewable energy is highly desirable in the global context as well as in its unique ability to draw from and significantly enhance a broad range of existing ASU interdisciplinary programs connected with sustainability and renewable energy research and education. The MRSEC proposed here has the following unique characteristics:
• It focuses on fundamental scientific questions. We take a new look at some rather old scientific problems. The development of stable, inexpensive catalysts with desirable properties (e.g. low overpotential), remains one of the most challenging goals of materials science today, and is a main focus of IRGs II and III. Advancing our understanding of basic chemical principles to enable the design of stable inexpensive catalysts with low overpotentials will offer a transformative path for the problem of energy storage. We attempt to study the fundamental questions that limit performance in electrochemical systems generally. The catalysis studies (IRG II) will also serve as a vehicle to develop a new, general approach to design bioinspired catalysts.  
• With its focus on questions of basic science, this MRSEC was carefully designed for maximum flexibility. The focus of IRG-III, for example, takes a different path to the predominant paradigm as seen, e.g. in the DOE fuel cells program (PEM cells, Nafion membranes, Pt catalysts, high purity H).  Similarly, the PV community has locked into a small set of leading candidate technologies.
• The MRSEC strikes a deliberate balance between technically safe and technically transformative components. For example, it is no accident that zincblende-like compounds have proven to be the most efficient materials (e.g. Si, CuInSe₂, GaAs, CdTe and GaxIn_1-xP/GaAs/Ge). The II-IV-Vs of IRG-I were chosen because of their similarity with GaAs, but add flexibility that current materials systems do not have. There is similar balance in all the IRGs. Success in any of them would lead to truly transformative technologies.
• All IRGs deliberately lead to technologies that can be applied in large scale, and are thus potentially practical for sustainable energy. In contrast to aqueous electrolytes, the ionic liquids in IRG-III are fully ionic at any effective pH; thus we plan to pursue alternatives to Pt (a rare element). Similarly, the materials selected for inorganic thin film PV cells do not require In, as do the currently popular CuInSe₂ and GaxIn_1-xP/GaAs/Ge. The catalysts of IRG-II do not employ rare metals.

Broader Impact:
The vast majority of current research in this field is technology oriented. As a result of the tendency to focus on solutions to specific problems in existing technologies, many of the advances have been incremental. Current generation fuel cells and PVs are not radically different from those of a generation ago. Moreover, several leading new candidate technologies use relatively rare elements (Pt in fuel cells, indium in PVs). Their viability can change radically if they are to be used at the terawatt scale. This MRSEC aims for transformative solutions that can realistically address some of these problems. The education and human resource development activities include many standard successful components of other MRSECs, but are distinct in how they strategically draw upon niche programs at ASU in K-12 outreach and diversity recruitment. MRSEC education activities include a K-12 teacher training program; undergraduate research, course development and a service learning internship; mentoring opportunities; and print and Web-based dissemination of renewable energy concepts and practices. Additionally, through workshops, seminars and extensions to the standard degree curriculum MRSEC will educate a new generation of graduate students who are technically proficient in the new fundamental science of renewable energy and equally knowledgeable about the social implications of renewable energy programs and policies. 
Given the scope of resources and advanced capabilities available at ASU and Arizona, the rationale for establishing a MRSEC in sustainable energy is uniquely appropriate and compelling.