From Self-assembly to Energy Conversion and Hydrogen Storage
Installation grant
This work has been supported by Croatian Science Foundation
The main goal of the project is to investigate the capabilities of the recently developed materials based on self-assembled quantum dots organized as nano-networks in glass matrices for application in energy-conversion and energy-storage devices. Two new self-assembly processes of Ge quantum dots in dielectric amorphous matrices, and consequently novel material types have been discovered recently by our group. We have performed intensive investigation of their structural properties since then, and we had found that they appear in many different shapes, internal structures and ordering types. One of them can store large amounts of hydrogen. However, only properties of Ge and SiGe quantum dots have been investigated, while all other materials and their properties are completely unknown. These materials are theoretically very suitable for applications, especially in photo-voltaic conversion and energy storage, so the investigations of their properties related to the applications are also very important.
We expect preparation of new, applicative materials with exceptional properties, observation of unusual effects caused by specific structure, and preparation of efficient thin-film coatings for conversion and storage of Sun energy. These results could be of great relevance for the production of super-efficient energy-converting window glasses, as the as the method that we use for the preparation (magnetron sputtering deposition) is a standard technique for production of window coatings and low-emissivity glasses.
01.06.2014-31.05.2017
Dr. sc. Maja Buljan
Laboratory of Thin Films
Division of Materials Physics
Ruđer Bošković Institute
Bijenička cesta 54
10000 Zagreb, Croatia