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

该补助金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太阳能电池，这是一种新型的太阳能电池，由于其功率转换效率超过了最先进的太阳能技术，因此有可能彻底改变太阳能电池行业。然而，钙钛矿太阳能电池目前是使用缓慢、低产率、实验室规模的工艺制造的，这些工艺不适合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狭缝模头涂覆和结晶工艺，该工艺能够以高速和低成本制造高质量的钙钛矿薄膜，并最终制造大面积太阳能电池板。永久性太阳能电池板有可能以比其他太阳能技术更低的成本提供电力，并可能推动美国可再生能源产业的发展。这项研究涉及多个学科，包括制造，工程和材料科学，并有助于扩大妇女和学生从代表性不足的少数群体在研究和积极影响工程教育的参与。基于钙钛矿的高效、低成本的光催化剂（PV）具有改变全球能源组合的潜力。钙钛矿PV面临的最大挑战是开发可扩展的快速制造策略，以低成本保持钙钛矿性能。PV膜的加工-结构-性能关系的现有知识表明，性能取决于沉积、干燥和热处理过程中湿膜的微观结构、组成、厚度、均匀性和稳定性。该项目的重点是了解槽模涂布，干燥和退火过程中的结晶和微结构形成，以及通过实验验证传输和动力学模型，以控制加工和放大过程中钙钛矿薄膜的性能。关键的科学成果是狭缝模头油墨配方的流变学和界面评估，狭缝模头涂布期间考虑热和浓度梯度的预测成核和生长模型，作为晶体成核的工程控制的逆溶解度（即逆温度结晶）的验证，以及双狭缝模头涂布的评估，以创建成分梯度，从而将结晶与干燥分离。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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.