Bryan Koivisto, Post Doctoral Fellow

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY

CHEMISTRY 601/603

INORGANIC SECTION

SPEAKER:            Bryan Koivisto, Post Doctoral Fellow

DATE:                     Tuesday,  Nov 17, 2009

TIME:                      12:30 pm

PLACE:                  SB 324

TITLE:                    "Lighting Up Ligands: Understanding the Nature of Light-Harvesting in
DSSC Applications".

ABSTRACT:           

Global energy consumption is conservatively projected to expand two-fold to 30 terawatts (TW) by 2050; therefore the need for non-carbonaceous energy sources is imperative. Of all of the energy sources gifted to the planet only solar energy can cleanly and sustainably match our current and future energy demand. The most efficient next-generation photovoltaic (PV) cell is the dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC), with overall efficiencies up to 12%. The ‘powerhouse' of the DSSC is the dye component. The vast majority of DSSC dyes are based on derivatives of [Ru(bpy)₃]²⁺owing to their stability, appropriate redox potentials and ability to absorb visible light. Tuning the organic framework of these metal complexes has several advantages with regards to light-harvesting efficiency. The Berlinguette group is actively pursuing dyes that will increase the DSSC efficiency and this talk will survey our progress over the past year.

Dr. Bryan D. Koivisto
Berlinguette Research Group
University of Calgary