Charge carrier transport study in 2D systems for solar energy conversion

• Grant number: 25/04149-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)
• Start date: May 01, 2025
• End date: April 30, 2029
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - Condensed Matter Physics
• Principal Investigator: José Antonio Souza
• Grantee: Lucas Axel Ramalho Santana
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas (CCNH). Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC). Ministério da Educação (Brasil). Santo André , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 23/09820-2 - Materials by design: from quantum materials to energy applications, AP.TEM

Abstract

Nanostructured semiconductor materials have attracted a lot of attention in recent years due to the great potential in the development of new technologies for applications in the field of renewable energies. The organic/inorganic hybrid perovskite crystals of the ABX3 type (in which A = Cs+ or CH3NH3+, B = Pb2+, Cu2+ and X = Cl-, Br- or I-) have revealed strongly coupled optoelectronic properties with great appeal for use in solar energy conversion devices. The understanding of physical phenomena involving structural, morphological, optical, and electrical properties are also of great scientific interest and may reveal that in fact these materials represent a viable alternative for use in photoelectrochemical and solar cells. In this sense, this research project involves the synthesis of 2D hybrid halide perovskites (HP) to study charge transport behavior. We intend to combine the electronic and optical properties of these low-dimensional perovskites with general formula (OM)2An¿1BnX3n+1 (n = 1, 2, 3, 4...), where OM is organic molecules, A is monovalent cation, B is a divalent metal cation, X is a halide anion, and n represents the number of [BX6]4¿ octahedral layers. A fundamental investigation involving the creation, separation, and charge transfer processes at the organic-inorganic interfaces is the central part of this project.