Solution-Processed Thin Film Semiconductors for Photovoltaic and Photoelectrochemical Applications

用于光伏和光电化学应用的溶液处理薄膜半导体

• 批准号: RGPIN-2019-05489
• 负责人: Uhl, Alexander
• 金额: $ 2.04万
• 依托单位: University of British Columbia
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=761780
• 关键词: Solution; Processed; Thin; Film; Semiconductors

The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to mitigate climate change while meeting the growing global energy demand is one of the greatest challenges of our time. Renewable energy technologies, such as photovoltaics (PV), have been identified by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to play a leading role in the necessary transition away from fossil-combustion-based energy sources. However, hurdles for widespread implementation such as cost competitiveness and the inherent energy intermittency of solar energy must be overcome. Ink-based deposition techniques have the potential to bring down costs and allow sustainable growth of renewable technologies due to their low capital expenditure, high material utilization, and high throughput, if high device efficiencies and benign reaction mechanisms can be obtained at the same time. Thin film solar cells based on chalcogenide and perovskite absorbers are particularly promising as they have achieved power conversion efficiencies of over 22%, representing the highest value among thin film solar cells - exceeding the market-leading silicon technology - and can be fabricated by liquid deposition methods and on a choice of rigid or flexible substrates. Moreover, both technologies exhibit a wide range of bandgap tunability, which allows for their integration in solution-processed tandem solar cells that can further boost device efficiencies by over 40% and potentially reduce solar electricity prices to approach those of coal or gas. High voltages from tandem devices further allow their use in catalysis reactions for solar fuels. The photoelectrochemical (PEC) reduction of CO2 has received growing attention as a potential solution to the intermittency of solar PV while reducing the amount of excess CO2 in the atmosphere. Solar energy harvested by PV is thereby used to convert CO2 into value-added hydrocarbon chemicals for storable fuels that may be used within the existing transportation infrastructure. Similar to solar PV, low-cost deposition methods and materials for catalysts and PEC devices are needed to guarantee the growth of the technology as well as cost-competitive solar fuels. The proposed research program to design, fabricate, and characterize solution-processed semiconductor layers and devices for PV and PEC applications is a highly interdisciplinary field that is expected to generate comprehensive qualifications for HQP in the area of semiconductor engineering, which is highly desired by both academia and industry. Further, this research has the potential to trigger a paradigm shift in semiconductor manufacturing and energy generation, challenging traditional conceptions of inferior material quality for solution-processed films and leverage Canada to gain IP and jobs in the ever-more-important renewable energy sector.

减少温室气体排放以缓解气候变化，同时满足日益增长的全球能源需求，是我们这个时代面临的最大挑战之一。政府间气候变化专门委员会(气候变化专门委员会)已确定，光伏等可再生能源技术将在从化石燃烧能源的必要过渡中发挥主导作用。然而，必须克服广泛实施的障碍，如成本竞争力和太阳能固有的能源间歇性。基于墨水的沉积技术由于其低资本支出、高材料利用率和高产量而具有降低成本和允许可再生技术可持续发展的潜力，如果能够同时获得高器件效率和良性反应机制的话。基于硫化物和钙钛矿吸收体的薄膜太阳能电池特别有前途，因为它们实现了超过22%的功率转换效率，是薄膜太阳能电池中最高的价值-超过了市场领先的硅技术-并且可以通过液体沉积方法和选择刚性或柔性基板来制造。此外，这两种技术都表现出广泛的带隙可调性，这使得它们可以集成到溶液处理串联太阳能电池中，进一步将器件效率提高40%以上，并有可能将太阳能电价降低到接近煤炭或天然气的水平。串联装置的高电压进一步允许它们用于太阳能燃料的催化反应。作为一种潜在的解决太阳能光伏间歇性的方法，光电化学(PEC)减少二氧化碳的排放受到了越来越多的关注，同时减少了大气中过量的二氧化碳。光伏发电收集的太阳能因此被用来将二氧化碳转化为可储存燃料的增值碳氢化合物，这些燃料可在现有的交通基础设施中使用。与太阳能光伏类似，催化剂和PEC器件需要低成本的沉积方法和材料，以保证技术的发展以及具有成本竞争力的太阳能燃料。拟议的设计、制造和表征用于光伏和PEC应用的溶液处理半导体层和器件的研究计划是一个高度跨学科的领域，有望在半导体工程领域产生全面的HQP资格，这是学术界和工业界都非常渴望的。此外，这项研究有可能引发半导体制造和能源生产的范式转变，挑战溶液处理薄膜材料质量低劣的传统观念，并利用加拿大在日益重要的可再生能源领域获得知识产权和就业机会。