Rapid Design of Earth Abundant Inorganic Materials for Future PVs

Project Personnel

Rakesh Agrawal

Principal Investigator

Purdue University

Email

Yanfa Yan

University of Toledo

Email

Funding Divisions

Division of Materials Research (DMR), Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems (ECCS)

Electricity is one of the fastest growing sectors in the U.S. and the worldwide demand for electricity is also on a rapid rise. Identification of new earth-abundant semiconductors along with their optoelectronic properties and low-cost processing technology in this project will influence how future thin-film photovoltaics (PV) are fabricated. The successful research outcome of the project will contribute toward widespread use of PV as an abundant source of electricity for a sustainable energy economy in the U.S. as well as the rest of the world. This project will develop the fundamental scientific knowledge that will lead to the identification and large-scale use of new semiconducting materials composed of earth-abundant elements for photovoltaics (PV). Ongoing feedback among computational estimates and experimentally measured material and electronic properties will allow refinement of the methods in all three research thrusts leading to rapid screening of large number of materials from a vast search space. Project efforts will identify the most promising earth-abundant materials for high efficiency solar cells. The integrative nature of the research and education will train and co-mentor graduate and undergraduate students in cross-disciplinary skills that are essential for developing innovative solutions as they join the workplace and contribute to the U.S. leadership in the burgeoning field of energy.

Publications

Thermally Evaporated Methylammonium Tin Triiodide Thin Films for Lead-free Perovskite Solar Cell Fabrication
Y. Yu, D. W. Zhao, C. R. Grice, W. W. Meng, C. L. Wang, W. Q. Liao, A. J. Cimaroli, H. M. Zhang, K. Zhu, Y. F. Yan
Water Vapor Treatment of Low-Temperature Deposited SnO2 Electron Selective Layers for Efficient Flexible Perovskite Solar Cells
C. L. Wang, L. Guan, D. W. Zhao, Y. Yu, C. R. Grice, Z. N. Song, R. A. Awni, J. Chen, J. B. Wang, X. Z. Zhao, Y. F. Yan
A Direct Solution Deposition Approach to CdTe Thin Films
C. K. Miskin, A. Dubois-Camacho, M. O. Reese, R. Agrawal
Oxygenated CdS Buffer Layers Enabling High Open-Circuit Voltages in Earth-Abundant Cu2BaSnS4 Thin-Film Solar Cells
J. Ge, P. Koirala, C. R. Grice, P. J. Roland, Y. Yu, X. X. Tan, R. J. Ellingson, R. W. Collins, Y. F. Yan
Binary Hole Transport Materials Blending to Linearly Tune HOMO Level for High Efficiency and Stable Perovskite Solar Cells
X. X. Yin, C. L. Wang, D. W. Zhao, N. Shrestha, C. R. Grice, L. Guan, Z. N. Song, C. Chen, C. W. Li, G. L. Chi, B. J. Zhou, J. S. Yu, Z. H. Zhang, R. J. Ellingson, J. Zhou, Y. F. Yan, W. H. Tang
Solution-processed Copper Arsenic Sulfide Thin Films for Photovoltaic Applications
S. A. McClary, J. Andler, C. A. Handwerker, R. Agrawal
Metal-Organic Framework-Derived CoWP@C Composite Nanowire Electrocatalyst for Efficient Water Splitting
B. C. Weng, C. R. Grice, W. W. Meng, L. Guan, F. H. Xu, Y. Yu, C. L. Wang, D. W. Zhao, Y. F. Yan
A New Hole Transport Material for Efficient Perovskite Solar Cells With Reduced Device Cost
Y. H. Sun, C. L. Wang, D. W. Zhao, J. S. Yu, X. X. Yin, C. R. Grice, R. A. Awni, N. Shrestha, Y. Yu, L. Guan, R. J. Ellingson, W. H. Tang, Y. F. Yan
Synergistic Effects of Thiocyanate Additive and Cesium Cations on Improving the Performance and Initial Illumination Stability of Efficient Perovskite Solar Cells
C. L. Wang, Z. N. Song, Y. Yu, D. W. Zhao, R. A. Awni, C. R. Grice, N. Shrestha, R. J. Ellingson, X. Z. Zhao, Y. F. Yan
Improved Performance of Electroplated CZTS Thin-Film Solar Cells with Bifacial Configuration
J. Ge, Y. J. Yu, W. J. Ke, J.Li, X. X. Tan, Z. W. Wang, J. H. Chu, Y. F. Yan
Optical Monitoring of CH3NH3PbI3 Thin Films upon Atmospheric Exposure
K. Ghimire, D. W. Zhao, A. Cimaroli,, W. J. Ke,, Y. F. Yan,, N. J. Podraza
Metal Halide Scintillators with Fast and Self-Absorption-Free Defect-Bound Excitonic Radioluminescence for Dynamic X-Ray Imaging
M. Y. Zhang, X. M. Wang, B. Yang, J. S. Zhu, G. D. Niu, H. D. Wu, L. X. Yin, X. Y. Du, M. Niu, Y. S. Ge, Q. G. Xie, Y. F. Yan, J. Tang
Speciation of CuCl and CuCl2 Thiol-Amine Solutions and Characterization of Resulting Films: Implications for Semiconductor Device Fabrication
P. Murria, C. K. Miskin, R. Boyne, L. T. Cain, R. Yerabolu, R. H. Zhang, E. C. Wegener, J. T. Miller, H. I. Kenttamaa, R. Agrawal
Hybrid Ligand Exchange of Cu(In,Ga)S2 Nanoparticles for Carbon Impurity Removal in Solution-Processed Photovoltaics
R. G. Ellis, J. W. Turnley, D. J. Rokke, J. P. Fields, E. H. Alruqobah, S. D. Deshmukh, K. Kisslinger, R. Agrawal
Nanosecond Carrier Lifetimes in Solution-processed Enargite (Cu3AsS4) Thin Films
S. A. McClary, M. M. Taheri, D. D. Blach, A. A. Pradhan, S. M. Li, L. B. Huang, J. B. Baxter, R. Agrawal
Solution-based Synthesis of Kesterite Thin Film Semiconductors
T. Todorov, H. W. Hillhouse, S. Aazou, Z. Sekkat, O. Vigil-Galán, S. D. Deshmukh, R. Agrawal, S. Bourdais, M. Valdés, P. Arnou, D. B. Mitzi, P. J. Dale
Extrinsic Doping of Ink-Based Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2-Absorbers for Photovoltaic Applications
S. Suresh, D. J. Rokke, A. A. Drew, E. Alruqobah, R. Agrawal, A. R. Uhl
Improving the Performance of Formamidinium and Cesium Lead Triiodide Perovskite Solar Cells using Lead Thiocyanate Additives
Y. Yu, C. L. Wang, C. R. Grice, N. Shrestha, D. W. Zhao, W. Q. Liao, A. J. Cimaroli, J. Chen, P. J. Roland, R. J. Ellingson, Y. F. Yan
Tracking the Maximum Power Point of Hysteretic Perovskite Solar Cells using a Predictive Algorithm
A. J. Cimaroli, Y. Yu, C. L. Wang, W. Q. Liao, L. Guan, C. R. Grice, D. W. Zhao, Y. F. Yan
Employing Overlayers To Improve the Performance of Cu2BaSnS4 Thin Film based Photoelectrochemical Water Reduction Devices
J. Ge, P. J. Roland, P. Koirala, W. W. Meng, J. L. Young, R. Petersen, T. G. Deutsch, G. Teeter, R. J. Ellingson, R. W. Collins, Y. F. Yan
Cost-effective Hole Transporting Material for Stable and Efficient Perovskite Solar Cells with Fill Factors up to 82%
L. Guan, X. X. Yin, D. W. Zhao, C. L. Wang, Q. S. An, J. S. Yu, N. Shrestha, C. R. Grice, R. A. Awni, Y. Yu, Z. N. Song, J. Zhou, W. W. Meng, F. J. Zhang, R. J. Ellingson, J. B. Wang, W. H. Tang, Y. F. Yan
Understanding and Eliminating Hysteresis for Highly Efficient Planar Perovskite Solar Cells
C. L. Wang, C. X. Xiao, Y. Yu, D. W. Zhao, R. A. Awni, C. R. Grice, K. Ghimire, I. Constantinou, W. Q. Liao, A. J. Cimaroli, P. Liu, J. Chen, N. J. Podraza, C. S. Jiang, M. M. Al-Jassim, X. Z. Zhao, Y. F. Yan
Compositional and Morphological Engineering of Mixed Cation Perovskite Films for Highly Efficient Planar and Flexible Solar Cells with Reduced Hysteresis
C. L. Wang, D. W. Zhao, Y. Yu, N. Shrestha, C. R. Grice, W. Q. Liao, A. J. Cimaroli, J. Chen, R. J. Ellingson, X. Z. Zhao, Y. F. Yan
Highly Sensitive Low-Bandgap Perovskite Photodetectors with Response from Ultraviolet to the Near-Infrared Region
W. B. Wang, D. W. Zhao, F. J. Zhang, L. D. Li, M. D. Du, C. L. Wang, Y. Yu, Q. Q. Huang, M. Zhang, L. L. Li, J. L. Miao, Z. Lou, G. Z. Shen, Y. Fang, Y. F. Yan
Bandgap Engineering of Barium Bismuth Niobate Double Perovskite for Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation
B. C. Weng, Z. W. Xiao, W. W. Meng, C. R. Grice, T. Poudel, X. M. Deng, Y. F. Yan
Lead-Free Inverted Planar Formamidinium Tin Triiodide Perovskite Solar Cells Achieving Power Conversion Efficiencies up to 6.22%
W. Q. Liao, D. W. Zhao, Y. Yu, C. R. Grice, C. L. Wang, A. J. Cimaroli, P. Schulz, W. W. Meng, K. Zhu, R. G. Xiong, Y. F. Yan
Optoelectronic Characterization of Emerging Solar Absorber Cu3AsS4 in 2019 IEEE 46th Photovoltaic Specialists Conference
S. A. McClary, S. M. Lie, X. X. Yin, P. Dippo, D. Kuciauskas, Y. F. Yan, J. B. Baxter, R. Agrawal
Fabrication of Efficient Low-Bandgap Perovskite Solar Cells by Combining Formamidinium Tin Iodide with Methylammonium Lead Iodide
W. Q. Liao, D. W. Zhao, Y. Yu, N. Shrestha,, K. Ghimire, C. R. Grice,, C. L. Wang,, Q. Xiao, A. J. Cimaroli, R. J. Ellingson, N. J. Podraza, K. Zhu, R. G. Xiong, Y. F. Yan
Low-temperature Plasma-enhanced Atomic Layer Deposition of Tin Oxide Electron Selective Layers for Highly Efficient Planar Perovskite Solar Cells
C. L. Wang, D. W. Zhao, C. R. Grice, W. Q. Liao, Y. Yu, A. Cimaroli, N. Shrestha, P. J. Roland, J. Chen, Z. H. Yu, P. Liu, N. Cheng, R. J. Ellingson, X. Z. Zhao, Y. F. Yan
One-step Facile Synthesis of a Simple Carbazole-cored Hole Transport Material for High-performance Perovskite Solar Cells
X. X. Yin, L. Guan, J. S. Yu, D. W. Zhao, C. L. Wang, N. Shrestha, Y. B. Han, Q. S. An, J. Zhou, B. J. Zhou, Y. Yu, C. R. Grice, R. A. Awni, F. J. Zhang, J. B. Wang, R. J. Ellingson, Y. F. Yan, W. H. Tang
Synergistic Effects of Lead Thiocyanate Additive and Solvent Annealing on the Performance of Wide-Bandgap Perovskite Solar Cells
Y. Yu, C. L. Wang, C. R. Grice, N. Shrestha, D. W. Zhao, W. Q. Liao, L. Guan, R. A. Awni, W. W. Meng, A. J. Cimaroli, K. Zhu, R. J. Ellingson, Y. F. Yan
Low-bandgap Mixed Tin-lead Iodide Perovskite Absorbers with Long Carrier Lifetimes for All-perovskite Tandem Solar Cells
D. W. Zhao, Y. Yu, C. L. Wang, W. Q. Liao, N. Shrestha, C. R. Grice, A. J. Cimaroli, L. Guan, R. J. Ellingson, K. Zhu, X. Z. Zhao, R. G. Xiong, Y. F. Yan
Band Tail Engineering in Kesterite Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 Thin-Film Solar Cells with 11.8% Efficiency
M. G. Gang, S. W. Shin, M. P. Suryawanshi, U. V. Ghorpade, Z. N. Song, J. S. Jang, J. H. Yun, H. Cheong, Y. F. Yan, J.H. Kim
Stable and Efficient CdS/Sb2Se3 Solar Cells Prepared by Scalable Close Space Sublimation
D. B. Li, X. X. Yin, C. R. Grice, L. Guan, Z. N. Song, C. L. Wang, C. Chen, K. H. Li, A. J. Cimaroli, R. A. Awni, D. W. Zhao, H. S. Song, W. H. Tang, Y. F. Yan, J. Tang
Probing the Origins of Photodegradation in Organic-inorganic Metal Halide Perovskites with Time-resolved Mass Spectrometry
Z. N. Song, C. L. Wang, A. B. Phillips, C. R. Grice, D. W. Zhao, Y. Yu, C. Chen, C. W. Li, X. X. Yin, R. J. Ellingson, M. J. Heben, Y. Yan
Impact of Epoxy Encapsulation on Device Stability of Large-Area Laser-Patterned Perovskite Solar Cells in 2018 IEEE 7th World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion
Z. N. Song, C. L. Wang, D. W. Zhao, C. Chen, X. X. Yin, C. W. Li, N. J. Podraza, M. J. Heben, Y. F. Yan
Four-Terminal All-Perovskite Tandem Solar Cells Achieving Power Conversion Efficiencies Exceeding 23%
D. W. Zhao, C. L. Wang, Z. N. Song, Y. Yu, C. Chen, X. Z. Zhao, K. Zhu, Y. F. Yan
Self-Powered All-Inorganic Perovskite Microcrystal Photodetectors with High Detectivity
H. Zhou, J. P. Zeng, Z. N. Song, C. R. Grice, C. Chen, Z. H. Song, D. W. Zhao, H. Wang, Y. F. Yan
Lead Chalcogenide Nanoparticles and Their Size-Controlled Self-Assemblies for Thermoelectric and Photovoltaic Applications
C. K. Miskin, S. D. Deshmukh, V. Vasiraju, K. Bock, G. Mittal, A. Dubois-Camacho, S. Vaddiraju
A Novel Approach to Amine-Thiol Molecular Precursors for Fabrication of High Efficiency Thin Film CISSe/CIGSSe Devices in 2019 IEEE 46th Photovoltaic Specialists Conference
D. Rokke, S. D. Deshmukh, R. Agrawal
A Cu3PS4 Nanoparticle Hole Selective Layer for Efficient Inverted Perovskite Solar Cells
X. X. Yin, S. A. McClary, Z. N. Song, D. W. Zhao, B. Graeser, C. L. Wang, N. Shrestha, X. M. Wang, C. Chen, C. W. Li, K. K. Subedi, R. J. Ellingson, W. H. Tang, R. Agrawal, Y. F. Yan
Arylammonium-Assisted Reduction of the Open-Circuit Voltage Deficit in Wide-Bandgap Perovskite Solar Cells: The Role of Suppressed Ion Migration
C. Chen, Z. N. Song, C. X. Xiao, R. A. Awni, C. L. Yao, N. Shrestha, C. W. Li, S. S. Bista, Y. Zhang, L. Chen, R. J. Ellingson, C. S. Jiang, M. Al-Jassim, G. J. Fang, Y. F. Yan
Analyzing and Tuning the Chalcogen-Amine-Thiol Complexes for Tailoring of Chalcogenide Syntheses
S. D. Deshmukh, L. F. Easterling, J. M. Manheim, N. J. LiBretto, K. G. Weideman, J. T. Miller, H. I. Kenttamaa, R. Agrawal
Solution Phase Growth and Ion Exchange in Microassemblies of Lead Chalcogenide Nanoparticles
S. D. Deshmukh, K. G. Weideman, C. K. Miskin, K. Kisslinger, R. Agrawal

Research Highlights