Colloidal nanocrystals: bridging the gap between inorganic and organic electronics

Abstract: We are living in an electronic world which is dominated by inorganic electronics, such as silicon, germanium, gallium arsenide and other III-V materials. On the other hand, organic electronics have been expected to promise new features and applications, which is strengthened by the recent successful commercialization of OLEDs. Innovation of materials and devices are highly desirable for both inorganic and organic electronics, but there is still a gap in between the two systems. Colloidal nanocrystals are a class of hybrid nanomaterials consisting ofan inorganic crystalline core (few to hundred-nanometer size) and solvent-favorable organic ligands bonded to the surface. They potentially combine the advantages of high performance inorganic electronics with the low-cost solution-processability of organics. In this talk, I will start with dye-sensitized nanocrystalline solar cells (DSSCs), a typical photovoltaic device enabled by nanocrystals, and present how to build efficient DSSCs on a fiber. Then, I will introduce potential application of colloidal graphene in printing electronics. Finally, I will present our recent progress on designing lead-halide perovskite nanocrystal emitters for blue light emitting devices.

Shaocong Hou earned a B.S. degree in applied chemistry from Hefei University of Technology in 2009. He obtained his PhD degree in Polymer Chemistry and Physics at Peking University in 2014 under the supervision of Prof. Dechun Zou with thesis titled "Fiber solar cells: Materials, Processing and Devices'. After graduating, he did his postdoctoral research on graphene-based printing electronics at the University of Cambridge in United Kingdom. In 2016, he joined Rowland Institute at Harvard as a postdoctoral fellow, working on perovskite materials and optoelectronic devices. His current research interests include developing new optoelectronic materials and devices.