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PhD Student: Fanny Baumann

Directors: CSIC Prof. Mónica Lira Cantú, Group Leader and Dr Sonia Ruiz Raga, at the Nanostructured Materials for Photovoltaic Energy Group at ICN2

Short Abstract: Photovoltaics, solar generated electricity, is an elegant solution to a non-exhaustive source of energy which can reduce the need for an extensive grid. A solar panel is only producing costs (apart from area and/or cleaning) and waste at the start and end of its life. Perovskite Solar Cells (PSCs) show promise for flexible, cheap and lightweight photovoltaics, but stability issues stand in the way of PSC commercialization. This thesis work demonstrates advantages with in-situ methods towards understanding reversible and irreversible decline in PSC by revealing several degradation phenomena, specifically related to strain-provoked breakdown. How phosphonate additives and MXene interlayers employed to stabilize PSC act was investigated to create a roadmap for further stability-enhancing efforts and evaluations.