Friday, 06 March 2020
Perovskite solar cells: novel approaches towards the next-generation of solar energy devices
Dr Sonia Ruiz Raga, postdoctoral researcher at the Renewable Energy Laboratory of the Monash University in Melbourne, discussed novel approaches to study perovskite-based solar cells and to improve their performances, in a seminar held at the ICN2 on 5th March.
Perovskite-based solar cells (PSC) for renewable energy generation have been in the spotlight for more than a decade already because of their great potential. Their efficiency has dramatically improved thanks to a global research effort in this field and it has now exceeded 25%. The lifetime and performance of these devices, though, need be further enhanced in order to accelerate the transfer of the PSC technology to the industry and, thus, the market.
Novel approaches to study PSCs and improve them were discussed on 5th March in a seminar held at the ICN2 by Dr Sonia Ruiz Raga, postdoctoral researcher at the Renewable Energy Laboratory of the Monash University in Melbourne (Australia). Invited by Dr Mónica Lira Cantú, leader of the ICN2 Nanostructured Materials for Photovoltaic Energy group, who also works on developing efficient perovskite solar cells, Dr Raga explained her approach to the study of the complex interactions at the interfaces between the various films composing the cell and how this deeper comprehension of the mechanisms at stake allow enhancing the device efficiency and stability over time.
She also provided a brief overview of the impedance spectroscopy technique used to characterize the devices and to investigate the physical processes taking place in them, including a case study, in which this analysis was used to understand the electrical mechanisms behind a gradual PSC efficiency increase under illumination.