Photoactive molecules (e.g., chlorophyll, heme) with well-defined size and chemistry are essential pigments in many biological energy transduction processes in plants, algae, and bacteria including light harvesting, photo-catalytic synthesis, water splitting. Inspired by their utility and function, in recent years, there has been a widespread interest in the synthesis and integration of complex photoactive nanoparticles and nanostructures, such as noble metal (Au, Ag, etc.) and semiconductor nanoparticles (TiO(2), ZnO, TaON, etc.), porphyrins arrays, etc., aiming to emulate natural light harvesting processes and energy conversion and storage and to develop new functional nanostructured materials. Through major advantages in fabrication, functionalization and assembly technologies, both photoactive nanoparticles and nanostructures have shown tremendous impacts on the fundamental and applied material research in optoelectronics, energy conversion, sensing and imaging fields. Specific attentions have been focused on photovoltaic cells, photoelectrochemical cells, photocatalytic redox and water splitting, phototherapy and imaging.

The overarching goal of this symposium has been planned as an interdisciplinary platform for research addressing challenges in development of efficient synthesis of photoactive nanoparticles and nanostructures to create new materials with capabilities rivaling those in living things and integration of these materials for optical and electronic applications. Specifically, the interdisciplinary sessions will include both oral and poster presentations that explore novel physical phenomena of photoactive nanoparticles and nanostructures, the synthesis/fabrication and characterization of nanoparticles and nanostructures with tailored optoelectronic properties, and the application of these materials in photoelectrical conversion devices. Of particular interests are efforts motivated by the development of next-generation technologies for highly efficient energy generation or usage.