Hyun Suk “Albert” Kang  first joined the Chemistry and Nanoscience Center at NREL in 2017 as a postdoctoral researcher, and he is now a postdoctoral researcher in the Materials Science Center in Jeffrey Blackburn’s Material Physics group. He is currently investigating exciton and charge-carrier dynamics of excitonic semiconducting systems, mainly based on single-walled carbon nanotubes.

Kang received his bachelor's degree in integrated science program, chemistry, and mathematics, and his master's degree in chemistry from Northwestern University in 2009. He earned his doctorate in physical chemistry from Washington University in St. Louis in 2016, under the supervision of Professor Dewey Holten. His doctorate research focused on understanding the connection between chemical/electronic structure and photophysical properties/dynamics of strongly coupled tetrapyrrole-based molecular arrays for light harvesting and solar energy conversion. This research was performed by various static and time-resolved absorption/emission spectroscopies and complex data analysis.

Research Interests

Exciton and charge-carrier dynamics in excitonic semiconducting materials

Static and time-resolved spectroscopy of excitonic semiconducting materials

Photophysical characterization of single-walled carbon nanotubes

Intra- and intermolecular couplings in meso- and nanoscale systems

Solar energy conversion

Education

Ph.D. Chemistry, Washington University

M.S. Chemistry, Northwestern University 

B.A. Integrated Science Program, Chemistry, Mathematics, Northwestern University 

Associations and Memberships

Member, Electrochemical Society

Member, Material Research Society

Featured Work

Effect of Delocalization on Exciton Transport in Polymer-Free Monochiral Semiconducting Carbon Nanotube Networks, Nanoscale (2019) 

Conductivity Tuning via Doping with Electron Donating and Withdrawing Molecules in Perovskite CsPbI3 Nanocrystal Films, Advanced Materials (2019) 

Origin of Panchromaticity in Multichromophore-Tetrapyrrole Arrays: Interplay of Spectral, Excited-State, and Molecular-Orbital Characteristics, Journal of Physical Chemistry A (2018), 

Synthesis of Arrays Containing Porphyrin, Chlorin, and Perylene-Imide Constituents for Panchromatic Light-Harvesting and Charge Separation, RSC Advances (2018) 

Long-Lived Charge Separation at Heterojunctions between Semiconducting Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes and Perylene Diimide Electron Acceptors, Journal of Physical Chemistry C (2018) 

Tuning the Electronic Structure and Properties of Perylene-Porphyrin-Perylene Panchromatic Absorbers, Journal of Physical Chemistry A (2016)

Effects of Strong Electronic Coupling in Chlorin and Bacteriochlorin Dyads, Journal of Physical Chemistry A (2016) 

Strongly Conjugated Hydroporphyrin Dyads: Extensive Modification of Hydroporphyrins' Properties by Expanding the Conjugated System, Journal of Organic Chemistry (2014) 

Awards and Honors

233rd Electrochemical Society Meeting 1st Place Best Poster Award (2018)