Project Details
Abstract
Qatar’s strategic move towards renewable energy from fossil fuels has inspired researchers to look for cheap and efficient solutions. In this respect, photovoltaics (PV) cells can be used to convert solar energy into electrical energy as promising renewable alternatives to fossil fuels. Recently the use of organolead trihalide Perovskite materials as a solar light harvester has shown dramatic progress with power conversion efficiency approaching up to 21 % just in six years of time. Although the Perovskite solar cell (PSC) is competing on efficiency with inorganic thin-film technologies but it requires systematic research effort to solve problems related to stability and environmental compatibility. This project aims to make PSC a viable technology by focusing on solving problems to commercialization by enhancing its efficiency, stability, and enabling scaling. Our research team in the field has identified three elements crucial for improving PSC efficiencies and stability: 1) matching the photovoltaic (PV) material’s photo-response to the full solar spectrum, 2) adequate physical separation of charges to prevent recombination, and 3) providing stability under moisture and light that makes it capable of desired applications. With the elements above in mind, our scientific objectives will be to integrate novel developed molecular engineered PV materials into PSC that can withstand with light and moisture. The studies in this project aimed to develop advanced functional electron transport materials (ETMs) and hole transport materials (HTMs) with low cost, high charge mobility and conductivity to achieve efficient, stable, and reproducible PSCs. To achieve the objectives, the research team will utilized following two strategies: • Novel purposely developed photovoltaics materials and their integration into PSC to understand the factors affecting the stability o Key aspects of innovative materials, photochemistry, photophysics, and exciton and charge carrier dynamics & o Critical aspects of interfacial Engineering that includes energy or band-gap alignment, charge-transfer and collection processes • Improved and optimized solution process fabrication strategies to achieve larger scale reproducibility and stability. o Materials structure and compositional engineering for improved stability o Solar cell fabrication with high-efficiency, stability and device performance testing This strategy would help the research team for integration of stable and novel PV materials into PSC by solution processing and step-wise studying multi-layer interfaces and grain boundaries, charge mobility and stability. Different state-of-the-art characterization tool including a) time-resolved spectroscopies (e.g. transient absorbance, femtosecond photoluminescence, and transient terahertz spectroscopies), b) microscopy (SEM and TEM), c) Surface and interface characterization tools (e.g. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), and Secondary ion mass spectrometry, SIMS) will also be used in collaboration with EFFL to understand PV materials and device at their interfaces. These techniques provide opportunities to study the excitons and charge carriers dynamics and collection in the PV materials and charge transfer at interfaces. Hence, the development of novel PV materials and their integration into PSC by new fabrication strategies will be explored and their photochemistry and photo-optical properties will be analyzed in detail as a resources to elevate the already superior device performance to a new status. Finally, this project will help in the development of functionalized novel, cost-effective and “perfect” PV materials in its pristine form for enhancing power conversion efficiency beyond 21% and improved stability for broad application of Perovskite Solar Cell. By utilizing sunlight and this PV technology as a viable and inexpensive source of energy, this project has a potential to not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions worldwide but to also provide a significant economic benefits to Qatar. This research project will help in building an indigenous research and development effort with a focus on diversifying the existing domestic resources towards an environmental friendly knowledge-based economy.
Submitting Institute Name
Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU)
Sponsor's Award Number | NPRP11S-1231-170150 |
---|---|
Proposal ID | EX-QNRF-NPRPS-40 |
Status | Finished |
Effective start/end date | 12/05/19 → 23/11/23 |
Collaborative partners
- Hamad Bin Khalifa University (lead)
- Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
- Texas A &M University at Qatar
Primary Theme
- Sustainability
Primary Subtheme
- SU - Sustainable Energy
Secondary Theme
- Sustainability
Secondary Subtheme
- SU - Resource Security & Management
Keywords
- Hole transport material,Photovoltaic device,Perovskite solar cell,Conductivity,Solution-processed
- None
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