Graphene materials in perovskite solar cells: performance, stability and large-scale prototypes

• Grant number: 22/07847-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: November 01, 2022
• End date: October 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Physical-Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Ana Flávia Nogueira
• Grantee: Francineide Lopes de Araújo
• Supervisor: Aldo di Carlo
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata, Italy
• Associated to the scholarship: 20/14451-8 - From small to large-area: a systematic study for the scale-up of perovskite solar cells, BP.PD

Abstract

In only a decade, the lab-scale perovskite solar cells (PSCs) achieved a record efficiency of 25.7% the fastest advance in photovoltaic technology in History. However, despite the rapid progress of efficiency, some challenges remain to be solved to speed up the commercialization of these devices. The main challenges include performance loss and low stability under environmental conditions (humidity, temperature and light), hysteresis, and upscaling. One of the main factors of losses in the efficiency of a PSC is charge recombination in the interfaces, which becomes more relevant and prejudicial with the increase in the active area. In this context, this project proposes the application of graphene materials as intra and interlayers in perovskite solar modules (PSMs) using the interface engineering method. Layers (perovskite and charge transport layers) deposition and modifications will be done by scalable processes such as blade coating and spray pyrolysis. These modifications are expected to reduce surface defects, minimize the interfacial recombination and, at the same time, promote fast charge extraction, resulting in PSMs with high performance and stability. Structural, optical, and morphological characterizations of the layers will be realized by SEM, XRD, AFM, XPS, PL, and UV-vis techniques. Electrical characterizations by JV curves, in dark and under illumination, LBIC, MPPT, and IPCE will be used to characterize the devices. From the point of view of processing and cost, the versatility of graphene materials in terms of processability and low cost is a beneficial and indispensable characteristic for the expansion and commercialization of PSMs. (AU)