Solar Skin: Integrated Non-toxic Perovskite Photovoltaics Using Additive Manufacturing

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Aim: What if solar cells were everywhere? Integrated into the fabric of our environment as a part of the items we use in our everyday lives, rather than as standalone products. The aim of this project is to develop emerging scalable manufacturing techniques in printed electronics to enable flexible perovskite solar cells to be applied directly to the surface of a product.1 By doing so, we can more easily integrate solar cells into our homes, workspaces and urban landscapes. Ultimately, the goal is to enable the generation renewable power at the point of use. Background: From fitness trackers to electric vehicles, the global market for mobile or wearable electronics is predicted to grow by $41bn from 2020 to 2024. As objects become smarter, there is a keen interest in the development of fully integrated ultra-light and ultra-flexible solar cells to supply power to devices at the products point of use. Bespoke application of lightweight solar cells, added directly to products as a second skin, could offer environmentally friendly product driven flexibility. Providing significant benefits across many manufacturing sectors, including housing, fashion, health and transport.A solar cell type that has potential to meet the design needs of these products is thin film metal halide-based perovskites. Perovskites are a group of photovoltaic (PV) materials that have seen a rapid rise in efficiency over the last ten years with the latest record at 25.5%2, approaching the top values achieved by the market leading silicon solar cells. With their high efficiencies and suitability for low-cost manufacturing methods, perovskites have shown great promise for sustainable solar cell production.For fully integrated sustainable solar cell products to become a reality, we need to develop scalable low energy and low temperature manufacturing processes that enable solar cells to be fabricated directly onto a wide variety of surfaces. While some advancements have been realized in the field of flexible solar cells in recent years, their development is still lagging behind when compared with their rigid counterparts. Work plan: During the PhD the student will work with non-toxic tin-based perovskite solar cell inks developed at the University of Liverpool. They will determine the feasibility of fabricating bespoke solar cells on a wide range of substrates, such as PET plastic, metals and fabric, using an additive manufacturing process known as slot die coating. The goal is to produce fully printed working prototype solar cells that can be deposited directly on to products such as folding smartphones, roof tiles and clothing. They will investigate the relationship between ink formulations, printing parameters and substrate materials, with the aim of optimising solar cell performance.