Publication Date
2020
Document Type
Thesis
Committee Members
Amit A. Farajian, Ph.D. (Advisor); Raghavan Srinivasan, Ph.D., P.E. (Committee Member); James A. Menart, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Degree Name
Master of Science in Materials Science and Engineering (MSMSE)
Abstract
Hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite solar cell is an emerging technology which has shown the fastest advancement in power conversion efficiency within a few years since introduction, thus making it one of the clean energy breakthroughs. These cells are based on thin-film technology which makes them suitable to manufacture using low-cost solution processing methods. As these types of cells are easily tunable with the selection of different materials, interfacial engineering is an important approach to increasing their efficiency. One of the main hurdles in this regard is the loss caused by the recombination of separated charges. An approach to tackle these issues is to incorporate organic monolayers between the charge (electron/hole) transport layers and the perovskite active layer. Such interface engineering has experimentally shown to improve the overall efficiency and stability of the cell. The current research focuses on the study of TiO2/HOOC-Ph-SH interface in order to understand the improved efficiency. Using ab initio quantum mechanical approach, we investigate the monolayer (HOOC-Ph-SH) adsorption onto the TiO2 surface to determine structural and electronic properties of the interface and discuss the connection of the results to solar cell performance.
Page Count
86
Department or Program
Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering
Year Degree Awarded
2020
Copyright
Copyright 2020, all rights reserved. My ETD will be available under the "Fair Use" terms of copyright law.
