Group Leader: Mónica Lira-Cantú
A study recently published in "Joule", coordinated by ICN2 Group Leader Dr Monica Lira-Cantú and Prof. Anders Hagfeldt (EPFL), demonstrates that the addition of the organic molecule H3pp to the halide perovskite layer increases the long-term stability of these solar cells, due to shallow point defect passivation.
Dr. Sonia Ruiz Raga has been awarded today by the L'Oréal-UNESCO "For Women in Science" programme. She recently joined the ICN2 through the "la Caixa" Junior Leaders programme and dreams about creating a product to generate renewable energy, commercializing it and seeing it used on everyday life.
Nature Energy is a young journal with five years of history. To celebrate it anniversary it has published a list of the selected more prominent topics of investigation and fifteen papers, among which is a Consensus led by Prof. Mónica Lira about stability assessment of perovskite solar cells.
The 2nd annual Women in Renewable Energy workshop, hosted under the umbrella of the ICN2 Severo Ochoa workshops, was held online on the last 16 October. This event, dedicated to energy storage application and key trends in sustainability, was organized by Prof. Mónica Lira from the ICN2 and Prof. Zakya Kafafi from Lehigh University in Bethlehem (USA). The excellent scientific sessions were followed by a roundtable on the role of women in science, their challenges, permanent discrimination, and the possibility of transforming scientific research into a more inclusive environment.
The ICN2 invites you to attend the 2nd Severo Ochoa Workshop on Energy and the 2nd Women in Renewable Energy (WiRE) Day, which will be held jointly on 16 October 2020. Register now to learn about new trends in renewable energy and the important role played by female researchers and engineers in this field.
Recently, the ICN2 welcomed two recipients of the 2019 laCaixa Junior Leader grant: Dr Sonia Ruiz Raga and Dr Arnau Carné Sánchez. We interviewed Sonia to learn more about her and her research interests and future projects.
Dr Arnau Carné Sánchez and Dr Sonia Ruiz Raga receive a “LaCaixa” Junior Leader grant to carry out their research at the ICN2.
Now available on YouTube! The ICN2 Group led by Prof. Mónica Lira Cantu hosted on 17 April 2020 a webinar to discuss about good practices on conducting and reporting stability studies specifically tailored for perovskite solar cells. The event was co-hosted by Prof. Eugene A. Katz, from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Its dynamic format included short presentations by international young experts and was organised by Dr Haibing Xie (ICN2) and Dr Mark Khenkin (HZB).
The consensus statement led by Mónica Lira-Cantú and Eugene A. Katz is mentioned as a significant step towards industrialisation of perovskite solar cells.
The existing characterization procedures to evaluate emerging photovoltaic devices are not appropriate for halide perovskite solar cells, a new generation of solar cells called to overcome the present state-of-the-art technologies. A vast group of scientists, led by Prof. Mónica Lira-Cantú (ICN2) and Prof. Eugene A. Katz (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev), have reached a consensus on the suitable procedures and the variables to be reported in stability studies of this kind of solar cells. The consensus statement, highlighted in the last issue of Nature Energy, updates the ISOS protocols for the stability assessment of perovskite photovoltaics with additional procedures to account for properties specific to this technology.
An Alliance for Materials Memorandum has been published by the EuMaT, with the aim to underline the paramount importance of materials science and technology in addressing societal challenges and to state the Materials community’s commitments for a better future.
Cheaper and better performing photoelectrochemical water splitting cells could be designed in the next future thanks to a new technology developed at the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), the Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC) and the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ). Recently published on Advanced Energy Materials, this research has involved the ICN2 Advanced Electron Nanoscopy group and the Nanostructured Materials for Photovoltaic Energy group.
The European Perovskite Initiative (EPKI) has produced a white paper that encompasses the overall progression roadmap planned by the research community within Europe. It also expresses the need for further commitment and support from European organizations. The ICN2 is one of the partners of this young initiative aimed at raising awareness of perovskite-based photovoltaics and facilitating joint-research programs and synergies amongst its members.
The ceremony celebrated at the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities was hosted by Minister Pedro Duque. The ICN2 Severo Ochoa Programme is a four year research strategy to strengthen the tools and the research performed in areas as relevant as energy, health, ICT and environment. A delegation of the 5 Severo Ochoa Excellence Centers and the 7 Maria de Maeztu Excellence Units participated in the event. The ICN2 delegation was led by ICREA Prof. Jose Antonio Garrido, Vice-Director of the ICN2.
Prof. Mónica Lira-Cantu (ICN2) and Prof. Zakya Kafafi (Lehigh University) are the Co-Chairs of the Women in Renewable Energy conference endorsed by SPIE. The event will have sessions devoted to the technical aspects of renewable energy together with a roundtable and a presentation focused on gender equality.
The ICN2 has joined the European Perovskite Initiative (EPKI), recently established to foster collaboration between universities, research institutes and industries working on perovskite solar cells. Its aim is to accelerate and coordinate the development of this promising technology.
Researchers from the ICN2 Nanostructured Materials for Photovoltaic Energy Group and the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne have used a ferroelectric oxide (PbZrTiO3) as an electron extraction material for stable halide perovskite solar cells. This complex oxide, used for the first time with this purpose, not only avoids the inconveniences of classical oxides such as TiO2, but also enhances the carrier transfer. This advancement was highlighted in the cover of Sustainable Energy and Fuels.
The Action dealt with organic and halide perovskite (HP) solar cells, which are some of the latest innovations in photovoltaic (PV) technology. 480 participants from 35 countries and 22 industries have brought HP cells’ efficiency closer to commercial viability and improved cell lifespans.
The ICN2 is involved in a series of initiatives to support this Day that is unfortunately still necessary. 100tífiques is one of the central actions involving the ICN2, the BIST centers and other Catalan research institutions to bring science and the role of women researchers closer to young students.
The journal covers all aspects of materials for display technologies, optical materials, magnetics, electronics or information storage technology.
La COPE radio station interviewed last night Prof. Mónica Lira-Cantú, Group Leader of the ICN2 Nanostructured Materials for Photovoltaic Energy Group. She introduced the concept of nanoscience and nanotechnology and explained some of the most exciting research lines she leads.
The Spanish newspaper devotes two full pages to explain how nanotechnology is shaping materials at the nanoscale for multiple applications. Among experts from other centers, four ICN2 Group Leaders share their research with an impact in fields such as energy, flexible circuits and biomedicine.
Once again the Barcelona Science Fair brought together science lovers and scientists in a wonderful setting for family fun and discussion. The ICN2 joined the celebrations around the 100th anniversary of Richard Feynman’s birth, also presenting some of the highlights of its Severo Ochoa Programme.
A work authored by Dr Mónica Lira is featured among the Energy and Environmental Science rolling collection of the hottest work published in this journal in 2018.
An ICN2 paper reporting a novel concept in transistor technology published in Advanced Functional Materials features in this month's MRS Bulletin.
ICN2 researchers have developed a novel concept in transistor technology: a two-in-one power source plus transistor device that runs on solar energy. Published in Advanced Functional Materials and currently trending in the Wiley-VCH “Hot Topics” list, lead author Amador Pérez-Tomás is calling it the “solaristor”.
As coordinator of the COST Action StableNextSol, CSIC scientist and ICN2 group leader Dr Mónica Lira-Cantú hosted last week's Stability of Emerging Photovoltaics from Fundamental to Applications (SEPV2018) conference in Barcelona.
The StableNextSol COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) Action Project integrates and generates fundamental knowledge and expertise to foster disruptive innovations targeted to mitigate device failure and to propose and develop new concepts for more stable emerging solar cells. The project is coordinated by Prof. Mónica Lira-Cantú, Group Leader of the ICN2 Nanostructured Materials for Photovoltaic Energy Group. The European Energy Innovation is a communication platform with the aim of putting energy and transport stakeholders in touch with each other.
An article in Advanced Materials, authored by ICN2 researchers Dr Amador Pérez-Tomás, Prof Mónica Lira-Cantú and ICREA Prof Gustau Catalan, reports the largest photovoltaic field ever observed in a photovoltaic device.
Fundació Catalana per a la Recerca i la Innovació (FCRi) organised, together with ICN2 and sponsored by Ibercaja, a visit to the ICN2 facilities. The visit included a guided tour and interaction with scientists who presented samples of technology.
Both researchers are highly motivated and express their passion for what they do in a short and interesting video published at the NanoDiode YouTube Channel. Photovoltaic energy and electronic transport in graphene are the research lines they talk about, respectively.
From March 24th to 26th, ICN2 and Microbia Environnement have led a SMS training workshop on nanobiosensors for water monitoring at ICN2 facilities. SMS is a project funded by the European Commission to promote the development of novel sensing devices for seawater quality monitoring.
ICN2 is hiring highly talented young researchers thanks to opportunities offered by the Severo Ochoa Award achieved last year through the Nanodevices for Societal Challenges Program. Blanca Chocarro and Christian Bellacanzone were the two first PhDs to recently enter ICN2 thanks to an ICN2-SO fellowship. Learn about them and their objectives!
In a talk presented by Mónica Lira-Cantu, Group Leader of the ICN2 Nanostructured Materials for Photovoltaic Energy Group, the speaker discussed about devices at different levels of maturity based on (semi)conductive polymers.
StableNextSol, funded by the European Commission through a COST Action coordinated from ICN2, is an interdisciplinary network of academic and industry researchers to study the degradation mechanisms occurring in state-of-the-art organic photovoltaic devices.
The European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) has chosen to fund ICN2 Prof. Mónica Lira-Cantu’s StableNextSol Action, which will create an interdisciplinary, pan-European network of researchers to improve the stability of organic photovoltaic cells. The COST Action’s first Management Committee meeting was held on March 20, 2014, in Brussels, Belgium.
Reporting in Energy & Environmental Science, ICN2 researchers apply a new water-based hole-transport material suitable for solution processing roll-to-roll fabrication for highly stable Organic Solar Cells
