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Peter Palomaki
Chemistry and Chemical Biology
I am a Ph.D. candidate in the lab of Dr. Peter Dinolfo working on developing new thin-film materials with applications in photovoltaic devices. I have a passion for alternative energy technologies, especially solar energy, and I enjoy studying how light interacts with materials.
As our society continues to consume energy at an alarming rate and fossil fuels become less available, there has become a need for inexpensive devices for capturing the abundant energy of the sun. We have developed a molecular layer-by-layer assembly technique using “click” chemistry that allows us to modify surfaces with various chromophores that can capture light from the sun. This layer-by-layer assembly scheme may allow us to build ordered structures with enhanced non-linear optical properties, thus potentially providing a new class of materials for the generation of terahertz energy. Due to the nature of the layer-by-layer process, we can selectively layer chromophores in order to optimize the efficiency of the system in the way it captures light and converts it into usable energy. I am studying the fabrication of these new types of films and their application in photovoltaic devices. My hopes are to improve efficiency, reduce cost, and better understand the fundamental processes occurring in photovoltaic devices.
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