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

目标：如果太阳能电池无处不在会怎样？作为我们日常生活中使用的物品的一部分集成到我们环境的结构中，而不是作为独立的产品。该项目的目标是在印刷电子领域开发新兴的可扩展制造技术，使柔性钙钛矿太阳能电池能够直接应用于产品表面通过这样做，我们可以更容易地将太阳能电池集成到我们的家庭、工作空间和城市景观中。最终，我们的目标是在使用时实现可再生能源发电。背景：从健身追踪器到电动汽车，预计从2020年到2024年，全球移动或可穿戴电子产品市场将增长410亿美元。随着物体变得越来越智能，人们对开发完全集成的超轻和超柔性太阳能电池产生了浓厚的兴趣，以便在产品的使用点为设备供电。定制应用轻型太阳能电池，直接添加到产品作为第二层皮肤，可以提供环保产品驱动的灵活性。为包括住房、时尚、卫生和运输在内的许多制造业部门带来重大利益。一种有潜力满足这些产品设计需求的太阳能电池类型是薄膜金属卤化物基钙钛矿。钙钛矿是一种光伏（PV）材料，其效率在过去十年中迅速提高，最新记录为25.5%2，接近市场领先的硅太阳能电池所达到的最高水平。由于其高效率和低成本制造方法的适用性，钙钛矿在可持续太阳能电池生产中显示出巨大的前景。为了使完全集成的可持续太阳能电池产品成为现实，我们需要开发可扩展的低能量和低温制造工艺，使太阳能电池能够直接制造到各种表面上。虽然近年来柔性太阳能电池领域取得了一些进展，但与刚性太阳能电池相比，其发展仍然滞后。工作计划：在攻读博士学位期间，学生将研究利物浦大学开发的无毒锡基钙钛矿太阳能电池油墨。他们将确定在各种基材上制造定制太阳能电池的可行性，如PET塑料、金属和织物，使用一种被称为槽模涂层的增材制造工艺。他们的目标是生产出完全打印的太阳能电池原型，可以直接沉积在折叠智能手机、屋顶瓦片和衣服等产品上。他们将研究油墨配方、印刷参数和衬底材料之间的关系，以优化太阳能电池的性能。

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.