Dr. Zhijun Ning (ECE) in the lab, holding a film coated with colloidal quantum dots (Photo: Roberta Baker) Think those flat, glassy solar panels on your neighbour’s roof are the pinnacle of solar technology? Think again. Researchers in the University of Toronto’s Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering have designed and tested a new class of solar-sensitive nanoparticle that outshines what we currently consider state of the art. This new form of solid, stable light-sensitive nanoparticles, called colloidal quantum dots, could lead to cheaper and more flexible solar cells, as well as better gas sensors, infrared lasers, infrared light emitting diodes and more. The research, led by post-doctoral fellow Zhijun Ning (ECE) and Professor Ted Sargent (ECE), was published this week in Nature Materials. Collecting sunlight using these tiny colloidal quantum dots depends on two types of semiconductors: n-type, which are rich in electrons; and p-type, which are poor in electrons. The problem? When exposed to air, n-type materials bind to oxygen atoms, give up their electrons, and turn into p-type. Ning and colleagues modelled and demonstrated a new colloidal quantum dot n-type material that does not bind oxygen when exposed to air. Maintaining stable n- and p-type layers simultaneously not only boosts the
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