Congratulations to Dr. Xiong Gong, Professor of Polymer Engineering, who was recently awarded a $475,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). His solar cell energy project, “Bulk Heterojunction Perovskite Solar Cells by Novel Hybrid Perovskite Materials,” is expected to “significantly advance the field of perovskite solar cells” and will also provide “cutting edge research opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students.”
Project Abstract:
Solar cells convert light directly into electricity via the photovoltaic effect. Their ability to efficiently and economically harness solar energy makes them a promising source of power. Silicon has proved to be the best material for making solar cells. A new class of materials, hybrid perovskites made from organic and inorganic components, have been used as the light-harvesting active layer in solar cells. Perovskite solar cells have attracted great attention as their performance approaches that of silicon and they are compatible with low-cost processing and flexible electronics. So far, the most efficient state-of-the-art perovskite solar cells were observed from the lead-based hybrid perovskites. Tuning the optical and electronic properties of hybrid perovskites by replacing lead or tin with other metal ions is relatively unexplored. Studies have also shown that unbalanced charge carrier diffusion within perovskite thin films limits the performance of perovskite solar cells. This project will address above issues by developing perovskite solar cells with a bulk heterojunction (mixed) device structure made from novel hybrid perovskites. The success of this project is expected to significantly advance the field of perovskite solar cells. The project will also provide cutting edge research opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students.