Physics of degRadation in Organic,nanoCrystal, and hybrid solar cEllS (PROCES)

面对全球能源使用量的不断上升，我们迫切需要提高清洁能源和可再生能源发电的比例。有机、胶体纳米晶体量子点（QDs）和混合有机-无机钙钛矿是“第三代”太阳能电池极有前途的溶液可加工材料候选者。它们独特的材料特性可以导致柔性、轻量化、低成本和高性能的太阳能电池，并使非传统的太阳能电池产品成为可能。虽然通过深入的研究，效率正在不断提高，但这些设备的致命弱点似乎是它们的环境不稳定。到目前为止，对有机、纳米晶体和杂化钙钛矿材料器件中环境不稳定的根本原因和机制的研究还很有限。对降解的物理化学过程有一个清晰的理解将有助于这些设备集成到工业应用中，指导材料和设备工程以提高设备的使用寿命。因此，在这个“过程”项目中，我们的目标是(1)确定有机、无机纳米晶体和有机-无机杂化薄膜降解的根本原因；(2)了解降解的物理成因，即降解产物的形成；(3)将器械特性的变化与确定的原因联系起来；(4)制定提高材料和器件稳定性的策略。可以预见，通过这项研究，我们将获得对不同材料选择（有机、纳米晶体或混合组件）、它们的合成和表面化学以及不同器件结构如何影响器件降解机制的基本理解。了解这些方面不仅可以提高有机、量子点和混合太阳能电池的器件寿命，还可以为未来第三代光伏电池的进一步优化提供材料和器件设计指南。这个为期三年的ANR-DFG项目将由海德堡大学（德国）和LPEM（法国科学研究中心/ espci -巴黎高科/皮埃尔和玛丽居里大学的一个研究单位）的两个研究小组密切合作进行。该项目将以这两个小组的力量和专业知识为基础，进行多学科调查。这种合作方法的结果将提高每个团队的研究能力，超越目前的水平，并为解决复杂和多领域的挑战提供理想的平台，以最大限度地提高有机，无机纳米晶体和有机-无机混合材料系统的环境稳定性。

Facing the rising energy usage worldwide, we urgently need to increase the proportion of electricity generated from clean and renewable energy sources. Organic, colloidal nanocrystal quantum dots (QDs), and hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites are highly promising solution-processable material candidates for "third-generation" solar cells. Their unique material characteristics can lead to flexible, light-weight, lowcost and high-performance solar cells and enable non-conventional solar cell products. While theefficiencies are being improved constantly by intensive research, the Achilles heel of these devices seems to be their environmental instability. So far only limited research has been done to study the fundamental causes and mechanisms leading to the environmental instability in devices based on organic, nanocrystal and hybrid perovskite materials. Developing a clear understanding of the physicochemical processes ofdegradation would aid the integration of these devices into industrial applications, guiding both material and device engineering to improve device lifetimes.Therefore, in this "PROCES" project we aim to (1) identify the fundamental causes of degradation of organic, inorganic nanocrystal and hybrid organic-inorganic thin films; (2) understand the physical origin of degradation, i.e. the formation of degradation products; (3) correlate the changes in device characteristics to the causes identified; and (4) develop strategies to improve material and device stability.It can be anticipated that through this study we will gain fundamental understanding of how different choices of materials (organic, nanocrystal, or hybrid components), their synthetic and surface chemistry, and different device architectures, impact on the device degradation mechanisms. Understanding these aspects will not only lead to organic, quantum dot and hybrid solar cells with improved device lifetimes, but also offer material and device design guidelines for further optimization of future third-generation photovoltaics.This 3-year ANR-DFG project will be carried out by a tight collaboration between two research teams from Heidelberg University (Germany) and the LPEM (Laboratoire de Physique et d'Etude des Matériaux, a research unit of CNRS/ESPCI-ParisTech/Université Pierre et Marie Curie). The project will build on the strength and expertise of these two teams to allow for a multidisciplinary investigation. The results of this collaborative approach will boost the research capability of each team surpassing its current level and allowing an ideal platform to tackle the complex and multi-domain challenges to maximize the environmental stability in organic, inorganic nanocrystal and hybrid organic-inorganic material systems.