Research interests in the Schlenker lab integrate synthetic chemistry and physical chemistry to develop fundamental principles and advanced concepts for designing materials with technological relevance for low-cost, high-efficiency energy conversion and storage devices. The common scientific goal in this work is to deepen our basic understanding of how electronic dynamics within heterogeneous solids are controlled by mesoscale organization. Advancing energy science and technology to scale sustainably to global demand requires that we predictively bridge bottom-up molecular behavior to meet top-down device engineering. At present, there is no such bridge. To overcome this challenge, the goals of the lab are to understand how chemical organization influences charge dynamics in model organic, organic/inorganic, and biogenic composites for devices such as 1) thin-film photovoltaics and 2) next-generation rechargeable batteries. Students joining the group will synthesize model organic, inorganic and organometallic compounds to study their properties in working devices using physical characterization tools such as pump-probe and luminescence spectroscopy, electrochemistry, time-domain and frequency-domain electronic measurements, and in situ structural characterization methods.
