Material Science and Energy Research at the Department of Physics, University of Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

Energy is the main driver in any economy because almost everything is directly or indirectly related to energy. Energy determines to a large extend the prices of goods, commodities , services and hence the cost of living in a country. Provision of adequate and affordable energy for any economy is therefore very critical. Material research on the other hand provides information which helps to determine the best applications for a certain material type. This scenario provides the rationale for the Condensed Matter Group based at the Department of Physics, University of Nairobi, to be focused on material science and energy (specifically renewable energy) research. The research interests spans across key areas such as the development of low cost dye sensitized solar cells, modeling of dye sensitized solar cells, extremely thin absorber (ETA) solar cells, cadmium-based photovoltaic solar cells, nanotechnology for energy conversion and other applications, water purification research. New and upcoming research areas include energy generation through hydrogen, biomass and wind. To facilitate the research, the laboratory is equipped with the latest research equipment which include: solar simulator, Shimadzu Double Spectrophotometer, Potentiostat, Edwards Vaccum Coating System, Spin Coater, Electropheric Deposition system, Raman Spectroscopy Equipment, Programmable Furnace. Its resource based in terms of personnel as well as equipment has made the Department a regional centre; attracting postgraduate students from the region as well as from other Universities within the country. For instance, in the last two years, over fifteen postgraduate students from other Universities in Kenya and neighbouring countries have been hosted in the Department for varying durations. As part of our social responsibility, the group organizes training for solar photovoltaic installers regularly. Since inception of the training last year, over eighty solar photovoltaic installer technicians have been trained. The group has established and maintained active research collaborations with at least seven different institutions in different countries across the continents.