Solar cells of nanostructured materials

• Grant number: 10/20692-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: October 01, 2011
• End date: March 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - Condensed Matter Physics
• Principal Investigator: Carlos Frederico de Oliveira Graeff
• Grantee: Marcus Vinicius Gonçalves Vismara
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências (FC). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Bauru. Bauru , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 08/57872-1 - National Institute for Materials Science in Nanotechnology, AP.TEM

Abstract

Energy is a strategic issue for the vast majority of industries and countries in the world, since the energy market has significant growth every year. However, the present society requires energy solutions that have the least environmental impact, so the researchers are seeking alternatives to the use of energy sources used today, fossil fuels. The use of solar energy is an alternative that can help meet energy demand. The main obstacle is the cost of energy production, which is still higher than the currently used energy sources, mainly oil. However in the last 10 years there has been an exponential growth in the world, the amount of photovoltaic modules. Therefore the study of new materials and devices are needed in order to obtain an increase in efficiency and technology of these devices for application in large scale. Solar cells (SC) based on polymers have great potential when compared to silicon cells, they are strong absorbers of visible light and can be manufactured using simpler techniques, including low cost and mechanical flexibility. Conducting polymers emerge as a possible solution to allow widespread use of solar power as an energy source worldwide. Based on this growing interest in renewable energy sources, this project aims to incorporate organic materials synthesized by international collaborators, in photovoltaic cells produced in our laboratory. It will also study the possibility of incorporating TiO2 nanoparticles, which are synthesized in our laboratory to these organic materials, in order to make solar cells hybrid-type Graetzel and evaluate their effectiveness. Will be conducted to characterize the optoelectronic properties of the starting materials, and preparation of photovoltaic devices. For the characterizations of the material in the form of films will be used microscopy techniques such as AFM and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in addition to techniques such as transmission in the UV-VIS and fluorescence. For the characterization of solar cells using the photoconductivity in a solar simulator, and we obtain I x V curves in the dark and under illumination. (AU)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

VISMARA, Marcus Vinicius Gonçalves. Estudo dos processos de geração e transferência de cargas em corantes cianinas. 2015. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp). Faculdade de Ciências. Bauru Bauru.