Scalable Manufacturing of Perovskite Photovoltaics by Controlled Crystallization During Slot Die Coating

这笔赠款支持与制造太阳能电池板的新工艺相关的新知识的研究。这项研究的重点是钙钛矿型太阳能电池，这是一种新型太阳能电池，由于其电能转换效率超过最先进的太阳能技术，有可能给太阳能电池行业带来革命性的变化。然而，目前钙钛矿型太阳能电池是使用缓慢、低产率的实验室规模的工艺制造的，这种工艺无法扩大到工业生产所需的大面积和高产量。为了克服这些障碍，该项目研究了一种连续的缝模涂层和结晶工艺，能够以高速度和低成本制造高质量的钙钛矿型薄膜，并最终制造大面积太阳能电池板。与其他太阳能技术相比，钙钛矿型太阳能电池板具有以更低的成本提供电力的潜力，可能会提振美国的可再生能源行业。这项研究涉及多个学科，包括制造、工程和材料科学，有助于扩大女性和来自少数族裔群体的学生对研究的参与，并对工程教育产生积极影响。基于钙钛矿的高效、低成本光伏(PV)具有改变全球能源组合的潜力。钙钛矿PV的最大剩余挑战是开发可扩展、快速的制造策略，以低成本保持钙钛矿性能。光伏薄膜工艺-结构-性能关系的先验知识表明，性能取决于湿薄膜在沉积、干燥和热处理过程中的微结构、成分、厚度、均匀性和稳定性。本项目的重点是了解缝模涂层、干燥和热处理过程中的结晶和微观结构的形成，并通过实验验证传输和动力学模型，以控制钙钛矿薄膜在加工和放大过程中的性能。主要的科学成果包括开槽模墨配方的流变学和界面评估、考虑开槽模涂覆过程中温度和浓度梯度的预测成核和生长模型、验证作为晶体成核的工程控制的逆溶解性(即逆温结晶)，以及评估双槽模涂覆以产生组成梯度，从而将结晶与干燥分离。这使得合理设计的钙钛矿合成油墨和路线图，以解决快速多晶薄膜制造过程中常见的干燥和结晶耦合的挑战。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This grant supports research that contributes new knowledge related to a novel process for manufacturing solar panels. This research focuses on perovskite solar cells, a new type of solar cell with the potential to revolutionize the solar cell industry due to power conversion efficiencies that surpass those of state-of-the-art solar technologies. However, perovskite solar cells are currently made using slow, low yield, laboratory-scale processes that are not amenable to be scaled up to the large areas and high throughputs required for industrial production. To overcome these barriers, this project investigates a continuous slot-die coating and crystallization process that enables the fabrication of high-quality perovskite thin films, and ultimately large-area solar panels, at high speed and low cost. Perovskite solar panels have the potential to provide electricity at lower cost than other solar technologies and could provide a boost to the U.S. renewable energy industry. This research involves several disciplines including manufacturing, engineering, and materials science and helps broaden participation of women and students from underrepresented minority groups in research and positively impacts engineering education. Efficient, low-cost photovoltaics (PVs) based upon perovskites have the potential to transform the global energy portfolio. The greatest remaining challenge in perovskite PVs is the development of scalable, rapid manufacturing strategies that maintain the perovskite performance at low cost. Prior knowledge of processing-structure-property relationships in PV films shows that performance depends on microstructure, composition, thickness, uniformity, and stability of the wet film during deposition, drying, and thermal treatment. This project focuses on understanding the crystallization and microstructure formation during slot-die coating, drying, and annealing processes as well as validating transport and kinetic models with experiments to control the properties of the perovskite films during processing and scale-up. The key scientific outcomes are rheological and interfacial assessment of slot-die ink formulations, a predictive nucleation and growth model accounting for thermal and concentration gradients during slot-die coating, validation of retrograde solubility (i.e. inverse temperature crystallization) as an engineering control for crystal nucleation, and evaluation of double slot-die coating to create composition gradients and thereby decouple crystallization from drying. This allows for rationally designed inks for perovskite synthesis and a road map to address the challenges of coupled drying and crystallization common to rapid polycrystalline thin-film manufacturing processes.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.