Discovery of new lead-free inorganic materials for photovoltaic applications

其目的是通过设计和合成新的无机固体并结合先进的结构分析(结晶学)和物理性能测量来发现新的太阳能收集材料。铅基钙钛矿的最新突破表明了新吸波材料的重要性，但混合钙钛矿甲基三碘化铅等材料在稳定性、可持续性和毒性方面仍未解决问题。该项目建立在我们最近发现的具有不同结构的新的无铅吸收材料家族的基础上。您将探索和了解闭壳、无毒、富含稀土元素的新的卤化物和硫化物固态化学，发现和表征新的吸收材料，从而开发解决这个问题的新材料方法。我们与凝聚态物理和器件制造领域的领导小组密切合作，以便快速评估新材料的应用。该项目将结合合成固态化学、先进的结构分析(结晶学)和物理性能测量，并有机会在项目期间专注于其中一个或多个方面。目标新材料包含关键的结构特征，如紧密堆积的卤化物晶格，这些结构特征对于优化太阳能吸收器的行为非常重要。您将发展材料合成方面的技能，包括空气敏感技术和溶液处理，以及通过X射线衍射(实验室和同步加速器)以及光学和电子光谱进行结构表征。有希望的材料将与我们的合作者一起加工成简单的光伏设备，将性能和性能与结构和组成联系起来。

The aim is to discover new solar harvesting materials through the design and synthesis of new inorganic solids coupled with advanced structural analysis (crystallography) and physical property measurement. Recent breakthroughs in lead-based perovskites show the importance of new absorbers, but materials such as the hybrid perovskite methyl ammonium lead triiodide have unsolved problems associated with stability, sustainability and toxicity. This project builds on our recent discovery of a new family of lead-free absorbers with distinct structures. You will explore and understand the new halide and chalcogenide solid state chemistry of closed shell, non-toxic, earth abundant elements, discovering and characterising new absorbers, and thus developing a new materials approach to this problem. We collaborate closely with leading groups in condensed matter physics and device manufacture to allow rapid evaluation of the new materials in applications.The project will combine synthetic solid-state chemistry, advanced structural analysis (crystallography) and measurement of physical properties, with the opportunity to focus on one or more of these aspects during the project. The targeted new materials contain key structural features known to be important in optimising solar absorber behaviour, such as close-packed halide lattices. You will develop skills in materials synthesis, including air-sensitive techniques and solution processing, and in structural characterisation by X-ray diffraction (laboratory and synchrotron) and optical and electronic spectroscopy. Promising materials will be processed into simple photovoltaic devices with our collaborators to relate properties and performance with structure and composition.