Welcome to the Ayzner Group at UC Santa Cruz!
We are experimental physical, materials and polymer chemists working on understanding and controlling light harvesting in soft, molecular materials. Light harvesting is the umbrella term for the conversion of photon energy from sunlight to either electrical or chemical potential energy. We aim to take advantage of the enormous tunability of organic macromolecules to assemble light-harvesting materials that are (1) light-weight, (2) inexpensive and (3) amenable to hierarchical construction into super-systems. In so doing, we draw our inspiration from natural light-harvestors such as photosynthetic bacteria and chloroplasts.
Look here to learn more about our research.