VCU professor develops new, eco-friendly semiconductor manufacturing method
VENN
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- A Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) professor has developed a new, eco-friendly method of producing semiconductor materials.
A semiconductor is a material that facilitates electrical conductivity between a conductor and an insulator. Semiconductors are important to modern technology, but they are constructed from toxic materials that result in environmental damage.
On Thursday, July 10, VCU announced that one of its engineering professors helped discover a new method of producing semiconductor materials that is more environmentally friendly.
This new technique was developed by Leah Spangler, assistant professor in the VCU College of Engineering’s Department of Chemical and Life Science Engineering, and Michael Hecht, a professor of chemistry at Princeton University.
It demonstrates an alternative method to produce semiconductor materials called "quantum dots" using proteins at room temperature in water, resulting in a more environmentally friendly synthesis method.
"This work shows that protein design can be leveraged to control material properties, creating an exciting new direction to explore for future research,” Spangler said.
Spangler received grant funding from the U.S. Department of Defense to test an eco-friendly approach for separating rare earth elements into a refined final product.
You can find more details in Spangler and Hecht's study, “De Novo Proteins Template the Formation of Semiconductor Quantum Dots,” which was published in ACS Central Science.
