Jianbo Gao envisions a future where solar power generates through film thinner than a hair — and his team is working to make this a reality.

Integrated onto the tops of cars, windows and many other surfaces, the film’s wires would plug into, and juice up, cellphones, tablets, vehicles and anything else needing power.

It’s new solar panel technology Gao and his international research team have created that is less expensive and more environmentally friendly than conventional solar panels and that “aims to power mankind using free abundant solar energy,” he says.

By using advanced materials, “we can double the efficiency of solar power generation,” says the Assistant Professor of Chemistry. “This new material is a very flexible coating that can even be put on clothing, so that your clothes can generate electricity.”

Gao has been awarded Brock University’s 2024 Award for Early Career Research and Creative Activity for his work in the area of photovoltaics, a method of converting sunlight into electricity.

“Through his breakthrough work, Dr. Gao aims to address climate change and the energy crisis, arguably two of the most challenging issues of our time,” says Acting Vice-President, Research Michelle McGinn. “His research focuses on the development of highly efficient and low-cost solar cells using the safest, cleanest and most abundant solar energy.”

Gao, also an Affiliated Professor in the Yousef Haj-Ahmad Department of Engineering, came to Brock in 2022 from Clemson University in South Carolina, where he was Assistant Professor of Physics. Before that, he was a Research Associate Specialist at the University of California at Berkeley.

Gao is a pioneer of introducing quantum dots into solar cells. Quantum dots are nanocrystals, human-made crystals that are among the smallest objects on earth.

These nanocrystals act as semiconductors that also would be future LED technology. Semiconductors are specific chemicals that transmit electrical currents between conductors, usually metals, and an insulator, such as ceramics.

One class of nanocrystals is called perovskite nanocrystalline, which contains properties Gao and his team have determined are particularly effective in capturing and converting sunlight into energy.

Perovskite nanocrystalline can be sprayed onto very thin, flexible sheets of plastic that can be laid down in many locations, he says.

In addition to decreasing the need for fossil fuels by getting energy from the sun, Gao’s desire is to generate “free electricity.”

“Hundreds of millions of people around the world still don’t have access to electricity,” he says. “Electricity will improve people’s lives. They can use the money they would pay for electricity to purchase food and other essentials.”

Gao’s work is published widely. Over the past six years, he has produced 34 peer-reviewed journal articles, with more than 6,000 citations, in prestigious science journals such as Science, Nature Physics, Nature Communications and Nano Letters.

During that time, he also mentored eight PhD students, two master’s students and 13 undergraduate students in areas such as advanced laser spectroscopy, nanomaterials synthesis and novel device development.

“Dr. Gao is a natural leader and an inspiration to students who form the next generation of innovators to continue advancing this critical field,” says McGinn.

The Early-Career Research and Creative Activity Award, valued at $5,000, is co-funded by the Office of the Vice-President, Research and the Brock University Faculty Association to recognize excellence and promise in research, scholarly activity and creative performance and contributions toward the training or mentoring of future scholars.