Nanostructured Materials for Photovoltaic Energy Group

Group Leader: Mónica Lira-Cantú

Mónica Lira-Cantú

CSIC Tenured Researcher

Group Leader

Mónica Lira-Cantú (Chemistry, 1992) obtained her Master’s and PhD degrees in materials science at the Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB) and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in 1995 and 1997, respectively. She then completed her postdoctoral work in the form of a contract between Schneider Electric and ICMAB in 1998. From 1999 to 2001 she worked as a permanent senior staff chemist at ExxonMobil Research & Engineering (formerly Mobil Technology Co) in New Jersey (USA), establishing a group on energy-related applications. Besides her role as group leader of the ICN2 Nanostructured Materials for Photovoltaic Energy Group, she is currently a visiting professor at the Laboratory of Photomolecular Science (LSPM) of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne.

Dr Lira-Cantu has received different awards and fellowships as a visiting scientist at the following laboratories: Universitetet i Oslo (Norway) (ESF, 2003), Risø DTU Nationallaboratoriet (Denmark) (AGAUR, 2004/05) and the Center for Advanced Science and Innovation (Osaka University, Japan) (Canon Foundation in Europe, 2006). She obtained a permanent position in 2007 at the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), establishing the ICN2 Photovoltaic Energy Group in 2007.

Since then she has directly managed more than 50 researchers, including one visiting professor, five postdoctoral students, eight PhD students (four in progress), over 26 Master’s and undergraduate students, two project managers and two technicians. She has been the principal investigator on several national, industrial and European projects, and is the main coordinator of a COST Action involving more than 470 partners from 35 countries and 22 companies to study the stability of organic and perovskite solar cells.

She has coordinated and organised more than 12 scientific conferences and is currently a scientific referee for more than 13 international and European research agencies, and 46 scientific journals. She is part of the editorial board of journals like Frontiers in Energy Research and the Journal of Physics Energy. She is a member of the advisory board for the Nanotechnology and Chemical Science degree (INCQ) of the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (Mexico).

Her research interests lie in the synthesis and application of nanostructured materials for stable next-generation thin-film solar cells: halide-perovskite, dye-sensitised, all-oxide and organic solar cells. Dr Lira-Cantú has more than 105 publications, among them 90 published papers, 7 patents and 10 book chapters, 1 edited book and several technical reports. Her h-index is 33.

Publications

2019

  • Boosting Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation of Hematite in Acidic Electrolytes by Surface State Modification

    Tang P.-Y., Han L.-J., Hegner F.S., Paciok P., Biset-Peiró M., Du H.-C., Wei X.-K., Jin L., Xie H.-B., Shi Q., Andreu T., Lira-Cantú M., Heggen M., Dunin-Borkowski R.E., López N., Galán-Mascarós J.R., Morante J.R., Arbiol J. Advanced Energy Materials; (1901836) 2019. 10.1002/aenm.201901836. IF: 24.884

  • Giant bulk photovoltaic effect in solar cell architectures with ultra-wide bandgap Ga2O3 transparent conducting electrodes

    Pérez-Tomás A., Chikoidze E., Dumont Y., Jennings M.R., Russell S.O., Vales-Castro P., Catalan G., Lira-Cantú M., Ton –That C., Teherani F.H., Sandana V.E., Bove P., Rogers D.J. Materials Today Energy; 14 (100350) 2019. 10.1016/j.mtener.2019.100350.

  • Impact of P3HT materials properties and layer architecture on OPV device stability

    Meitzner R., Faber T., Alam S., Amand A., Roesch R., Büttner M., Herrmann-Westendorf F., Presselt M., Ciammaruchi L., Visoly-Fisher I., Veenstra S., Diaz de Zerio A., Xu X., Wang E., Müller C., Troshin P., Hager M.D., Köhn S., Dusza M., Krassas M., Züfle S., Kymakis E., Katz E.A., Berson S., Granek F., Manceau M., Brunetti F., Polino G., Schubert U.S., Lira-Cantu M., Hoppe H. Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells; 202 (110151) 2019. 10.1016/j.solmat.2019.110151. IF: 6.019

  • PbZrTiO 3 ferroelectric oxide as an electron extraction material for stable halide perovskite solar cells

    Pérez-Tomas A., Xie H., Wang Z., Kim H.-S., Shirley I., Turren-Cruz S.-H., Morales-Melgares A., Saliba B., Tanenbaum D., Saliba M., Zakeeruddin S.M., Gratzel M., Hagfeldt A., Lira-Cantu M. Sustainable Energy and Fuels; 3 (2): 382 - 389. 2019. 10.1039/c8se00451j. IF: 4.912

  • Towards Oxide Electronics: a Roadmap

    Coll M., Fontcuberta J., Althammer M., Bibes M., Boschker H., Calleja A., Cheng G., Cuoco M., Dittmann R., Dkhil B., El Baggari I., Fanciulli M., Fina I., Fortunato E., Frontera C., Fujita S., Garcia V., Goennenwein S.T.B., Granqvist C.-G., Grollier J., Gross R., Hagfeldt A., Herranz G., Hono K., Houwman E., Huijben M., Kalaboukhov A., Keeble D.J., Koster G., Kourkoutis L.F., Levy J., Lira-Cantu M., MacManus-Driscoll J.L., Mannhart J., Martins R., Menzel S., Mikolajick T., Napari M., Nguyen M.D., Niklasson G., Paillard C., Panigrahi S., Rijnders G., Sánchez F., Sanchis P., Sanna S., Schlom D.G., Schroeder U., Shen K.M., Siemon A., Spreitzer M., Sukegawa H., Tamayo R., van den Brink J., Pryds N., Granozio F.M. Applied Surface Science; 482: 1 - 93. 2019. 10.1016/j.apsusc.2019.03.312. IF: 5.155

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

  • Solution processable titanium dioxide precursor and nanoparticulated ink: Application in Dye Sensitized Solar Cells

    Bosch-Jimenez, P.; Yu, Y.; Lira-Cantu, M.; Domingo, C.; Ayllón, J.A. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science; 416: 112 - 118. 2014. 10.1016/j.jcis.2013.11.013. IF: 3.552

  • Worldwide outdoor round robin study of organic photovoltaic devices and modules

    Madsen, M.V.; Gevorgyan, S.A.; Pacios, R.; Ajuria, J.; Etxebarria, I.; Kettle, J.; Bristow, N.D.; Neophytou, M.; Choulis, S.A.; Stolz Roman, L.; Yohannes, T.; Cester, A.; Cheng, P.; Zhan, X.; Wu, J.; Xie, Z.; Tu, W.-C.; He, J.-H.; Fell, C.J.; Anderson, K.; Hermenau, M.; Bartesaghi, D.; Jan Anton Koster, L.; Machui, F.; González-Valls, I.; Lira-Cantu, M.; Khlyabich, P.P.; Thompson, B.C.; Gupta, R.; Shanmugam, K.; Kulkarni, G.U.; Galagan, Y.; Urbina, A.; Abad, J.; Roesch, R.; Hoppe, H.; Morvillo, P.; Bobeico, E.; Panaitescu, E.; Menon, L.; Luo, Q.; Wu, Z.; Ma, C.; Hambarian, A.; Melikyan, V.; Hambsch, M.; Burn, P.L.; Meredith, P.; Rath, T.; Dunst, S.; Trimmel, G.; Bardizza, G.; Müllejans, H.; Goryachev, A.E.; Misra, R.K.; Katz, E.A.; Takagi, K.; Magaino, S.; Saito, H.; Aoki, D.; Sommeling, P.M.; Kroon, J.M.; Vangerven, T.; Manca, J.; Kesters, J.; Maes, W.; Bobkova, O.D.; Trukhanov, V.A.; Paraschuk, D.Y.; Castro, F.A.; Blakesley, J.; Tuladhar, S.M.; Alexander Röhr, J.; Nelson, J.; Xia, J.; Parlak, E.A.; Tumay, T.A.; Egelhaaf, H.-J.; Tanenbaum, D.M.; Mae Ferguson, G.; Carpenter, R.; Chen, H.; Zimmermann, B.; Hirsch, L.; Wantz, G.; Sun, Z.; Singh, P.; Bapat, C.; Offermans, T.; Krebs, F.C. Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells; 130: 281 - 290. 2014. 10.1016/j.solmat.2014.07.021. IF: 5.030

2013

2012

  • Combined characterization techniques to understand the stability of a variety of organic photovoltaic devices - The ISOS-3 interlaboratory collaboration

    Lira-Cantu, M.; Tanenbaum, D.M.; Norrman, K.; Voroshazi, E.; Hermenau, M.; Lloyd, M.T.; Teran-Escobar, G.; Galagan, Y.; Zimmermann, B.; Hösel, M.; Dam, H.F.; Jørgensen, M.; Gevorgyan, S.; Lutsen, L.; Vanderzande, D.; Hoppe, H.; Rösch, R.; Würfel, U.; Andriessen, R.; Rivaton, A.; Uzunoglu, G.Y.; Germack, D.; Andreasen, B.; Madsen, M.V.; Bundgaard, E.; Krebs, F.C. Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering; 8472: 847203. 2012. doi:10.1117/12.929579.

  • Enhanced light extraction in ITO-free OLEDs using double-sided printed electrodes

    Reboud, V.; Khokhar, A.Z.; Sepúlveda, B.; Dudek, D.; Kehoe, T.; Cuffe, J.; Kehagias, N.; Lira-Cantu, M.; Gadegaard, N.; Grasso, V.; Lambertini, V.; Sotomayor Torres, C.M. Nanoscale; 4 (11): 3495 - 3500. 2012. .

  • Hydrothermal synthesis of 1D TiO2 nanostructures for dye sensitized solar cells

    Tacchini, I.; Ansón-Casaos, A.; Yu, Y.; Martínez, M.T.; Lira-Cantu, M. Materials Science & Engineering B: Solid-State Materials for Advanced Technology; 177: 19 - 26. 2012. 10.1016/j.mseb.2011.09.024.

  • Investigation of the degradation mechanisms of a variety of organic photovoltaic devices by combination of imaging techniques - The ISOS-3 inter-laboratory collaboration

    Rösch, R.; Tanenbaum, D.M.; Jørgensen, M.; Seeland, M.; Bärenklau, M.; Hermenau, M.; Voroshazi, E.; Lloyd, M.T.; Galagan, Y.; Zimmermann, B.; Würfel, U.; Hösel, M.; Dam, H.F.; Gevorgyan, S.A.; Kudret, S.; Maes, W.; Lutsen, L.; Vanderzande, D.; Andriessen, R.; Teran-Escobar, G.; Lira-Cantu, M.; Rivaton, A.; Uzunoglu, G.Y.; Germack, D.; Andreasen, B.; Madsen, M.V.; Norrman, K.; Hoppe, H.; Krebs, F.C. Energy and Environmental Sciences; 5: 6521 - 6540. 2012. 10.1039/c2ee03508a.

  • New D-Ï€-A-conjugated organic sensitizers based on 4 H-pyran-4-ylidene donors for highly efficient dye-sensitized solar cells

    Franco, S.; Garín, J.; Martínez De Baroja, N.; Pérez-Tejada, R.; Orduna, J.; Yu, Y.; Lira-Cantú, M. Organic Letters; 14: 752 - 755. 2012. 10.1021/ol203298r.

  • On the stability of a variety of organic photovoltaic devices by IPCE and in situ IPCE analyses - The ISOS-3 inter-laboratory collaboration

    Teran-Escobar, G.; Tanenbaum, D.M.; Voroshazi, E.; Hermenau, M.; Norrman, K.; Lloyd, M.T.; Galagan, Y.; Zimmermann, B.; Hösel, M.; Dam, H.F.; Jorgensen, M.; Gevorgyan, S.; Kudret, S.; Maes, W.; Lutsen, L.; Vanderzande, D.; Würfel, U.; Andriessen, R.; Rösch, R.; Hoppe, H.; Rivaton, A.; Uzunoglu, G.Y.; Germack, D.; Andreasen, B.; Madsen, M.V.; Bundgaard, E.; Krebs, F.C.; Lira-Cantu, M. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics; 14: 11824 - 11845. 2012. 10.1039/c2cp40821j.

  • Solution processable TiO 2 nanoparticles capped with lauryl gallate

    Bosch-Jimenez, P.; Lira-Cantu, M.; Domingo, C.; Ayllón, J.A. Materials Letters; 89: 296. 2012. .

  • Stability and degradation of organic photovoltaics fabricated, aged, and characterized by the ISOS 3 inter-laboratory collaboration

    Tanenbaum, D.M.; Hermenau, M.; Voroshazi, E.; Lloyd, M.T.; Galagan, Y.; Zimmermann, B.; Hösel, M.; Dam, H.F.; Jørgensen, M.; Gevorgyan, S.; Kudret, S.; Maes, W.; Lutsen, L.; Vanderzande, D.; Würfel, U.; Andriessen, R.; Rösch, R.; Hoppe, H.; Lira-Cantu, M.; Teran-Escobar, G.; Dupuis, A.; Bussière, P.O.; Rivaton, A.; Uzunoglu, G.Y.; Germack, D.; Andreasen, B.; Madsen, M.V.; Norrman, K.; Bundgaard, E.; Krebs, F.C. Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering; 8477: 847704. 2012. doi:10.1117/12.930451 .

  • The ISOS-3 inter-laboratory collaboration focused on the stability of a variety of organic photovoltaic devices

    Tanenbaum, D.M.; Hermenau, M.; Voroshazi, E.; Lloyd, M.T.; Galagan, Y.; Zimmermann, B.; Hösel, M.; Dam, H.F.; Jørgensen, M.; Gevorgyan, S.A.; Kudret, S.; Maes, W.; Lutsen, L.; Vanderzande, D.; Würfel, U.; Andriessen, R.; Rösch, R.; Hoppe, H.; Teran-Escobar, G.; Lira-Cantu, M.; Rivaton, A.; Uzunolu, G.Y.; Germack, D.; Andreasen, B.; Madsen, M.V.; Norrman, K.; Krebs, F.C. RSC Advances; 2: 882 - 893. 2012. 10.1039/c1ra00686j.

  • The use of polyurethane as encapsulating method for polymer solar cells - An inter laboratory study on outdoor stability in 8 countries

    Sÿndergaard R.R.; Makris, T.; Lianos, P.; Manor, A.; Katz, E.A.; Gong, W.; Tuladhar, S.M.; Nelson, J.; Tuomi, R.; Sommeling, P.; Veenstra, S.C.; Rivaton, A.; Dupuis, A.; Teran-Escobar, G.; Lira-Cantu, M.; Sapkota, S.B.; Zimmermann, B.; Wÿrfel, U.; Matzarakis, A.; Krebs, F.C. Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells; 99: 292. 2012. .

  • TOF-SIMS investigation of degradation pathways occurring in a variety of organic photovoltaic devices - The ISOS-3 inter-laboratory collaboration

    Andreasen, B.; Tanenbaum, D.M.; Hermenau, M.; Voroshazi, E.; Lloyd, M.T.; Galagan, Y.; Zimmernann, B.; Kudret, S.; Maes, W.; Lutsen, L.; Vanderzande, D.; Würfel, U.; Andriessen, R.; Rösch, R.; Hoppe, H.; Teran-Escobar, G.; Lira-Cantu, M.; Rivaton, A.; Uzunoglu, G.Y.; Germack, D.S.; Hösel, M.; Dam, H.F.; Jorgensen, M.; Gevorgyan, S.A.; Madsen, M.V.; Bundgaard, E.; Krebs, F.C.; Norrman, K. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics; 14: 11780 - 11799. 2012. 10.1039/c2cp41787a.

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

  • Hybrid materials based on Vanadyl Phosphate and Conducting Polymers as Cathodes in Rechargeable Lithium Cells.

    A. Karina Cuentas-Gallegos; R. Vijayaraghavan; Mónica Lira-Cantú; Nieves Casañ-Pastor; Pedro Gómez-Romero Boletin de la Sociedad Espanola de Ceramica y Vidrio; 43 (2): 429 - 433. 2004. .