ECE Departmental Seminar - Modern Alchemy in Crafting Future-Focused Photovoltaic Materials for Renewable Energy

Functional materials processed from solution phases are often defective and considered inferior to their single crystalline counterparts. Such an unfavourable property is primarily due to their disordering nature. Material imperfections in the amorphous or sub-crystalline states can trigger interactions that dictate microstructural evolution and molecular reordering. However, the same imperfections can also be explored for bottom-up engineering to acquire on-demand properties and added functionality. The central part of this talk will focus on an earth-abundant, solution-processable material family – halide perovskites. Despite bearing the same fate of being defect-prone, the skyrocketing progress in the field of perovskite photovoltaics has resulted in a record-breaking >26% efficient single-junction device with phase-pure perovskites, merely <1% absolute behind incumbent crystalline Si solar technologies. Furthermore, with the potential of manufacturing at a low cost, perovskites have long been praised for being crucial for paving our way to net zero. Nevertheless, this seemingly ideal photovoltaic material family faces challenges, particularly its vulnerability to simultaneous exposure to light and heat, along with the prevalence of defects. These factors hinder the ability of perovskite solar technologies to achieve their full thermodynamic potential. This talk will address these challenges by presenting practical strategies to overcome them.