Nanoparticle Arrays for Novel, Organized Perovskites Assisted by Copolymer assembly Kinetics (NANOPACK): Designer nanomaterials for energy applications

下一代太阳能电池需要廉价、可获得和灵活，才能被广泛采用。为了实现IPCC报告设定的到2050年实现全球碳中和的雄心勃勃的目标，需要大规模转向可持续的方法，包括转向电动汽车用于大众交通，以及重新设计建筑以提高能效。预计集成太阳能将成为这一举措的主要组成部分。2017年全球光伏发电创纪录增长，新增装机容量比2016年增长33%。覆盖每一个表面的廉价、可获得和灵活的太阳能电池是推动光伏发电到2050年占全球电力份额30%-50%这一雄心勃勃的目标的关键。最近，金属有机卤化物钙钛矿已经成为所有光伏技术中最有前途的新材料，用于低成本大规模生产覆盖面积的器件。它们已经实现了实验室内的效率，超过了其他新兴技术，包括CdTe和CIGS，甚至在单结电池方面与硅相媲美。此外，它们的处理要求极低。对电子和晶体缺陷的高容忍度导致了许多沉积方法、多种钙钛矿材料组合和多种颗粒尺寸的高效率器件。然而，任何新技术的商业化都面临挑战。由于钙钛矿作为吸波材料的有效性，实现高效率器件的一个主要瓶颈是接触界面的异质性和质量。基于我在之前的探索基金的支持下获得的纳米颗粒/界面专业知识，我提出的研究计划旨在利用一种创新技术来解决这些问题，在钙钛矿设备的界面上结合均匀的、单分散的、溶液处理的纳米颗粒，以解决效率、稳定性和均质性问题。拟议计划的另一个主要目标是通过专注于材料开发，解决商业化面临的挑战，如铅的毒性(目前是金属-有机钙钛矿的关键成分)或有机阳离子的不稳定性。使用适合工业放大的环境沉积技术来生产大面积、单分散、均匀的钙钛矿纳米颗粒，是拟议的计划将产生的关键创新。

The next generation of solar cells need to be cheap, accessible and flexible for widespread adoption. To reach the ambitious targets set by the IPCC report for achieving global carbon neutrality by 2050, there needs to be a wide scale move to sustainable approaches including a shift to electric vehicles for mass transportation and the redesign of buildings for energy efficiency.  Integrated solar is expected to be a major part of that move. 2017 saw record growth in global PV with a 33% increase in newly installed capacity over 2016. Cheap, accessible, and flexible solar cells that cover every surface are key pushing forward to the ambitious goal of photovoltaics constituting 30-50% of the global electricity share by 2050. Recently, metal-organic halide perovskites have emerged as the most promising new material amongst all photovoltaic technologies for low-cost mass production of devices that cover large areas. They have already achieved in-lab efficiency that surpasses other emerging technologies, including CdTe and CIGS, and even rival that of Si for single junction cells. Additionally, they have extremely low processing requirements. A high tolerance for both electronic and crystallographic defects leads to high efficiency devices from many deposition approaches, many combinations of perovskite materials, and many particle sizes. However, commercialization of any new technology has challenges. Due to the effectiveness of perovskites as an absorber material, a major bottleneck in reaching high efficiency devices are centered around the heterogeneity and quality of the interfaces at the contacts. Based on my nanoparticle/interface expertise gained with the support of my previous Discovery Grant, my proposed research program aims to address these issues using an innovative technique to incorporate homogenous, monodispersed, solution processed nanoparticles at interfaces in perovskite devices, to tackle issues of efficiency, stability and homogeneity. The other major aim of the proposed program is to tackle challenges to commercialization, such as the toxicity of Pb (currently a critical component of metal-organic perovskites) or the instability of the organic cation, by focussing on material development.  Producing large area, monodispersed, homogenous perovskite nanoparticles, using ambient deposition techniques that are adaptable to industrial scale-up are key innovations that will result from the proposed program.