Let there be lights
Fri, 17 Jun 2011 11:52:00 BST
A £93,000 chemistry research project at the University of Huddersfield will shed light on new materials which could applied in efficient artificial lighting, electronic displays and in solar energy generation.
Dr Paul Elliott, who is a senior lecturer in the University’s Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences, has been awarded a major grant by the Leverhulme Trust so that he can probe the fascinating properties of the elements iridium, ruthenium and platinum.
These elements are already used to make molecules that act as catalysts which drive chemical reactions in fields such as drug manufacture.
Now Dr Elliott and a specially-appointed co-researcher aim to design a series of molecules that can be used to provide illumination for a wide range of devices and gadgets, and also absorb sunlight in order to generate cheap electricity.
The Leverhulme Trust-funded project is underway and will also be boosted by the high performance computers now available to researchers at the University of Huddersfield. These are sited at the Queensgate Campus Centre for Higher Performance Computing and at the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s world-renowned Daresbury Laboratories in Cheshire, where the University is a key partner in the creation of a new super computer.
There are two facets to Dr Elliott’s project. One is to make a set of luminescent compounds derived from iridium and platinum. These could be used to provide illumination for mobile phone displays, TV screens and other electronic devices. The compounds could provide purer colours and could consume much less power than materials that are currently used.
The second dimension to the research is to investigate the ways in which the iridium, ruthenium and platinum molecules can absorb light, meaning that when they are incorporated into solar cells they can be used to generate cheap electricity.
Flexible plastics solar cells could be made and would have many applications – for example, if stuck to a window they would provide a cheap and instant solar panel. Or plastic strips could be fastened to a rucksack in order to recharge devices such as iPods while on the move.
"These kinds of solar cells could make a significant contribution to lowering energy costs," says Dr Elliott. One of his research challenges is to find the best materials to use, which will absorb light and generate electricity efficiently.
Initially, Dr Elliott’s Leverhulme Trust-funded project – its full technical title is ‘the development of novel luminescent ruthenium, iridium, and platinum cyclometalates’ – will concentrate on the scientific problems. But the eventual aim is to identify commercial applications and seek an industrial partner.
