Andrew J. Ferguson plenary: Molecular Chromophores for Next-Generation Solar Photon Harvesting

There is an increased interest in exploiting photophysical phenomena to enhance the performance of photovoltaic echnologies, pushing their efficiency toward, and ultimately beyond, the Shockley-Queisser limit for a single-junction solar cell.

In the presentation, " "Molecular Chromophores for Next-Generation Solar Photon Harvesting," Andrew J. Ferguson of National Renewable Energy Laboratory (USA) discusses the applicability of molecular chromophores to this endeavor, focusing on two well-known phenomena: (1) photochemical upconversion and (2) singlet fission.

Recent discoveries have demonstrated that these ‘scientific curiosities' exhibit significant promise for solar photoconversion applications. Ferguson outlines the mechanisms that underlay these two photon harvesting processes, while also highlighting scientific questions that remain to be answered; and identifying strategies for, and obstacles to, their incorporation into realistic photoconversion systems.

Andrew Ferguson is a Research Scientist in the Chemical and Materials Science Center at the U.S. DOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory. His research includes investigating factors influencing singlet fission and the interaction of plasmon-active substrates with excited states in model organic semiconductor systems.