High Mobility Hole Extraction Materials for Colloidal Quantum Dot Solar Cells

非技术描述：利用太阳光发电可以改变社会满足能源需求的方式。较新的太阳能电池材料，如基于液体涂料的材料，价格低廉，可以在各种表面涂覆；然而，与较重的传统技术相比，它们的功率输出较低。该研究小组寻求通过开发更有效地导电的新材料来增加下一代太阳能电池的功率输出。该项目有可能通过提高轻质、廉价和灵活的太阳能材料的电力转换效率，满足开发更高效的可再生能源技术的广泛社会目标，作为昂贵、污染和不可持续的化石燃料的替代品。研究活动与旨在向小学生、本科生和研究生介绍纳米技术和可持续工程领域的全面教育和推广计划相结合。研究团队成员担任巴尔的摩小学STEM成就(SABES)计划的导师，定期访问少数族裔、低收入社区的小学教室，让学生和教师参与实践工程丰富项目。技术描述：该项目的目标是为PbS胶体量子点(CQD)太阳能电池建造新的高迁移率空穴提取材料，解决这些器件中的效率限制因素。正在探索的材料路线包括新型有机小分子配体、电荷转移掺杂剂、基于PbSe的CQD薄膜和基于化学计量比的掺杂控制。我们采用化学合成、溶液处理器件制造以及电学和光学表征。该项目的三个主要目标是：(1)利用新的掺杂策略解决PbS CQD太阳能电池空穴提取层低空穴迁移率的效率限制问题；(2)使用新的空穴提取材料构建原理验证的PbS CQD单结和多结太阳能电池；以及(3)回答有关纳米颗粒薄膜材料的掺杂机制和电荷传输的基本问题。这项工作旨在提高CQD太阳能电池的效率，使其具有与传统光伏技术的竞争力，代表着一种新的灵活的太阳能收集途径。这些新材料有可能用于多结太阳能电池、透明光伏、灵活和可穿戴的能量采集设备，以及其他光电子和光电子技术，如发光二极管和光电传感器。所获得的洞察力为理解更广泛的结构材料系统中的纳米级电荷传输奠定了基础。研究活动与一项教育计划相结合，该计划涉及开发新的跨学科本科和研究生课程，重点是可再生能源和纳米材料的当前研究领域，以及巴尔的摩市公立小学的STEM强化。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。

Nontechnical Description: Generating inexpensive electricity from sunlight could transform the way society meets its energy needs. Newer materials for solar cells, such as those based on liquid paints, are inexpensive and can be coated on a variety of surfaces; however, their power output is low compared to heavier conventional technology. The research team seeks to increase the power output of next-generation solar cells by developing new materials that more efficiently conduct electricity. The project has the potential to address broad societal goals in the development of more efficient renewable energy technologies, as alternatives to costly, polluting and unsustainable fossil fuels, by improving the power conversion efficiency of lightweight, cheap, and flexible solar materials. Research activities are integrated with a comprehensive education and outreach plan designed to introduce elementary students, undergraduates, and graduate students to the fields of nanotechnology and sustainable engineering. Research team members serve as mentors for the STEM Achievement in Baltimore Elementary Schools (SABES) program, regularly visiting elementary school classrooms in high-minority, low-income neighborhoods to engage students and teachers in hands-on engineering enrichment projects. Technical Description: The objective of this project is to build new high mobility hole extraction materials for PbS colloidal quantum dot (CQD) solar cells, addressing the efficiency-limiting factor in these devices. The materials routes being explored include new small organic molecule ligands, charge transfer dopants, PbSe-based CQD thin films, and stoichiometry-based doping control. We employ chemical synthesis, solution-processed device fabrication, and electrical and optical characterization. The three main goals of the project are to (1) solve the efficiency-limiting problem of low hole mobility in the hole extraction layer of PbS CQD solar cells using new doping strategies; (2) build proof-of-principle PbS CQD-based single- and multi-junction solar cells using the new hole extraction materials; and (3) answer fundamental questions about doping mechanisms and charge transport in nanoparticle-based thin film materials. This work aims to increase the efficiency of CQD solar cells so that they become competitive with conventional photovoltaic technology, representing a new flexible route for solar energy harvesting. The novel materials have the potential to be used in multijunction solar cells, transparent photovoltaics, flexible and wearable energy harvesting devices, and other photonic and optoelectronic technologies such as light emitting diodes and photosensors. The insights gained serve as foundations for understanding nanoscale charge transport in a wider range of structured materials systems. Research activities are integrated with an education plan that involves the development of new interdisciplinary undergraduate and graduate courses, focused on current research areas in renewable energy and nanomaterials, as well as STEM enrichment in public elementary schools in Baltimore City.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.