A University of Texas at Arlington physics professor has helped
create a hybrid nanomaterial that can be used to convert light and
thermal energy into electrical current, surpassing earlier methods that
used either light or thermal energy, but not both.
Working with
Louisiana Tech University assistant professor Long Que, UT Arlington
associate physics professor Wei Chen and graduate students Santana Bala
Lakshmanan and Chang Yang synthesized a combination of copper sulfide
nanoparticles and single-walled carbon nanotubes.
The team used
the nanomaterial to build a prototype thermoelectric generator that they
hope can eventually produce milliwatts of power. Paired with
microchips, the technology could be used in devices such as
self-powering sensors, low-power electronic devices and implantable
biomedical micro-devices, Chen said.
"If we can convert both light
and heat to electricity, the potential is huge for energy production,"
Chen said. "By increasing the number of the micro-devices on a chip,
this technology might offer a new and efficient platform to complement
or even replace current solar cell technology."
In lab tests, the
new thin-film structure showed increases by as much at 80 percent in
light absorption when compared to single-walled nanotube thin-film
devices alone, making it a more efficient generator.
Copper sulfide is also less expensive and more environment-friendly than the noble metals used in similar hybrids.
In
October, the journal Nanotechnology published a paper on the work
called "Optical thermal response of single-walled carbon nanotube-copper
sulfide nanoparticle hybrid nanomaterials." In it, researchers also say
also found that they could enhance the thermal and optical switching
effects of the hybrid nanomaterial as much as ten times by using
asymmetric illumination, rather than symmetric illumination.
Coauthors
on the Nanotech-nology paper from Louisiana Tech include Yi-Hsuan
Tseng, Yuan He and Que, all of the school's Institute for
Micromanufacturing.
"Dr. Chen's research with nanomaterials is an
important advancement with the potential for far-reaching applications,"
said Pamela Jansma, dean of the UT Arlington College of Science. "This
is the kind of work that demonstrates the value of a research university
in North Texas and beyond."
Chen is currently receiving funding
from the U.S. Department of Defense to develop nanoparticle
self-lighting photodynamic therapy for use against breast and prostate
cancers. In 2010, he was the first to publish results in the journal
Nanomedicine demonstrating that near infrared light could be used to
heat copper sulfide nanoparticles for photothermal therapy in cancer
treatment, which destroys cancer cells with heat between 41 and 45
degrees Celsius.
Next month, the Journal of Biomedical
Nanotechnology will publish Chen's work successfully coupling gold
nanoparticles with the copper sulfide nanoparticles for the photothermal
therapy. Such a material would be less costly and potentially more
effective than using gold particles alone, Chen said.
