Surface science research, solar

In this section, an overview will be provided of the topical areas of surface science research that are especially important to solar energy technologies. These comments are based in part on a report from a workshop held in July 1980 (4). Broad areas of surface science that affect solar materials research are indicated. 

Table 1 of a paper by Murr (2) lists problems and/or concerns related to specific interface materials and specific components of SECS. In Table 2 of the same work, he related topical study areas and/or research problems to S/S, S/L, S/G, L/L, and L/G interfaces. It is also useful to divide interface science into specific topical areas of study and consider how these will apply to interfaces in solar materials. These study areas are thin films grain, phase, and interfacial boundaries oxidation and corrosion adhesion semiconductors surface processes, chemisorption, and catalysis abrasion and erosion photon-assisted surface reactions and photoelectrochemistry and interface characterization methods. The actual or potential solar applications, research issues and/or concerns, and needs and opportunities are presented in the proceedings of a recent Workshop (4) and summarized in a recent review (3). 

Gary Hodes received his BSc and PhD from Queen s University of Belfast in 1968 and 1971 respectively, and has been at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel since 1972. His research has focused on semiconductor film deposition from solutions (initially electrochemical and later chemical bath deposition) and on various types of solar cells (liquid junction, thin film, polycrystalline and nanoporous) and quantum dots using these films. Throughout his career, he has also studied various aspects of semiconductor surface treatments. More recently, he is continuing work on various aspects of chemical bath deposition mechanisms and also increasingly concentrating on nanocrystalline, semiconductor-sensitised solar cells. 

Thomas Russell is Silvio O. Conte Distinguished Professor, Polymer Science and Engineering Department Director, Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC), Polymer-Based Materials for Harvesting Solar Energy. His research interests are polymer-based nanoscopic structures, polymer-based nanoparticle assemblies, electrohydrodynamic instabilities in thin polymer films, surface and interfacial properties of polymers, polymer morphology kinetics of phase transitions, and supercritical fluid/polymer interactions. 

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