Rapid Design of Earth Abundant Inorganic Materials for Future PVs
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
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, and A. R. Uhl
3/23/2022
Enabling fine-grain free 2-micron thick CISe/CIGSe film fabrication via a non-hydrazine based solution processing route
S. D. Deshmukh, K. G. Weideman, R. G. Ellis, K. Kisslinger, and R. Agrawal
1/1/2022
Solution Phase Growth and Ion Exchange in Microassemblies of Lead Chalcogenide Nanoparticles
S. D. Deshmukh, K. G. Weideman, C. K. Miskin, K. Kisslinger, and R. Agrawal
8/11/2021
Metal Halide Scintillators with Fast and Self‐Absorption‐Free Defect‐Bound Excitonic Radioluminescence for Dynamic X‐Ray Imaging
M. Zhang, X. Wang, B. Yang, J. Zhu, G. Niu, H. Wu, L. Yin, X. Du, M. Niu, Y. Ge, Q. Xie, Y. Yan, and J. Tang
12/6/2020
Nanosecond carrier lifetimes in solution-processed enargite (Cu3AsS4) thin films
S. A. McClary, M. M. Taheri, D. D. Blach, A. A. Pradhan, S. Li, L. Huang, J. B. Baxter, and R. Agrawal
10/19/2020
Arylammonium-Assisted Reduction of the Open-Circuit Voltage Deficit in Wide-Bandgap Perovskite Solar Cells: The Role of Suppressed Ion Migration
C. Chen, Z. Song, C. Xiao, R. A. Awni, C. Yao, N. Shrestha, C. Li, S. S. Bista, Y. Zhang, L. Chen, R. J. Ellingson, C. Jiang, M. Al-Jassim, G. Fang, and Y. Yan
7/10/2020
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. Kenttämaa, and R. Agrawal
5/22/2020
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, and R. Agrawal
5/5/2020
Potassium Treatments for Solution-Processed Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 Solar Cells
E. H. Alruqobah, and R. Agrawal
5/1/2020
Synthesis and characterization of semiconducting sinnerite (Cu6As4S9) thin films
S. A. McClary, and R. Agrawal
3/1/2020
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, and P. J. Dale
1/1/2020
Reaction pathways and optoelectronic characterization of single-phase Ag2ZnSnS4 nanoparticles
X. Hu, S. Pritchett-Montavon, C. Handwerker, and R. Agrawal
11/7/2019
Versatile Colloidal Syntheses of Metal Chalcogenide Nanoparticles from Elemental Precursors Using Amine-Thiol Chemistry
S. D. Deshmukh, R. G. Ellis, D. S. Sutandar, D. J. Rokke, and R. Agrawal
10/21/2019
Investigating Chemistry of Metal Dissolution in Amine–Thiol Mixtures and Exploiting It toward Benign Ink Formulation for Metal Chalcogenide Thin Films
X. Zhao, S. D. Deshmukh, D. J. Rokke, G. Zhang, Z. Wu, J. T. Miller, and R. Agrawal
7/11/2019
Liquid assisted grain growth in solution processed Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2
S. McLeod, E. Alruqobah, and R. Agrawal
6/1/2019
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, and R. Agrawal
2/1/2019
A Cu3PS4 nanoparticle hole selective layer for efficient inverted perovskite solar cells
X. Yin, S. A. McClary, Z. Song, D. Zhao, B. Graeser, C. Wang, N. Shrestha, X. Wang, C. Chen, C. Li, K. K. Subedi, R. J. Ellingson, W. Tang, R. Agrawal, and Y. Yan
1/1/2019
Binary hole transport materials blending to linearly tune HOMO level for high efficiency and stable perovskite solar cells
X. Yin, C. Wang, D. Zhao, N. Shrestha, C. R. Grice, L. Guan, Z. Song, C. Chen, C. Li, G. Chi, B. Zhou, J. Yu, Z. Zhang, R. J. Ellingson, J. Zhou, Y. Yan, and W. Tang
9/1/2018
Pressure-Assisted Annealing Strategy for High-Performance Self-Powered All-Inorganic Perovskite Microcrystal Photodetectors
H. Zhou, Z. Song, C. R. Grice, C. Chen, X. Yang, H. Wang, and Y. Yan
8/1/2018
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. Song, J. S. Jang, J. H. Yun, H. Cheong, Y. Yan, and J. H. Kim
7/26/2018
Stable and efficient CdS/Sb2Se3 solar cells prepared by scalable close space sublimation
D. Li, X. Yin, C. R. Grice, L. Guan, Z. Song, C. Wang, C. Chen, K. Li, A. J. Cimaroli, R. A. Awni, D. Zhao, H. Song, W. Tang, Y. Yan, and J. Tang
7/1/2018
Metal–Organic Framework-Derived CoWP@C Composite Nanowire Electrocatalyst for Efficient Water Splitting
B. Weng, C. R. Grice, W. Meng, L. Guan, F. Xu, Y. Yu, C. Wang, D. Zhao, and Y. Yan
5/23/2018
Stability, Electronic and Optical Properties of M4M′X4 (M = Ga or In, M′ = Si, Ge, or Sn, X = Chalcogen) Photovoltaic Absorbers
W. Meng, X. Wang, Y. Yan, and J. Wang
4/27/2018
Self-Powered All-Inorganic Perovskite Microcrystal Photodetectors with High Detectivity
H. Zhou, J. Zeng, Z. Song, C. R. Grice, C. Chen, Z. Song, D. Zhao, H. Wang, and Y. Yan
4/5/2018
Four-Terminal All-Perovskite Tandem Solar Cells Achieving Power Conversion Efficiencies Exceeding 23%
D. Zhao, C. Wang, Z. Song, Y. Yu, C. Chen, X. Zhao, K. Zhu, and Y. Yan
1/8/2018
Role of annealing atmosphere on the crystal structure and composition of tetrahedrite–tennantite alloy nanoparticles
S. A. McClary, R. B. Balow, and R. Agrawal
1/1/2018
Pure phase synthesis of Cu3PS4 and Cu6PS5Cl for semiconductor applications
B. Graeser, and R. Agrawal
1/1/2018
Probing the origins of photodegradation in organic–inorganic metal halide perovskites with time-resolved mass spectrometry
Z. Song, C. Wang, A. B. Phillips, C. R. Grice, D. Zhao, Y. Yu, C. Chen, C. Li, X. Yin, R. J. Ellingson, M. J. Heben, and Y. Yan
1/1/2018
Synergistic effects of thiocyanate additive and cesium cations on improving the performance and initial illumination stability of efficient perovskite solar cells
C. Wang, Z. Song, Y. Yu, D. Zhao, R. A. Awni, C. R. Grice, N. Shrestha, R. J. Ellingson, X. Zhao, and Y. Yan
1/1/2018
Roles of Pseudo-Closed s2 Orbitals for Different Intrinsic Hole Generation between Tl–Bi and In–Bi Bromide Double Perovskites
Z. Xiao, Y. Yan, H. Hosono, and T. Kamiya
12/28/2017
Barium Bismuth Niobate Double Perovskite/Tungsten Oxide Nanosheet Photoanode for High‐Performance Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting
B. Weng, C. R. Grice, J. Ge, T. Poudel, X. Deng, and Y. Yan
12/22/2017
A New Hole Transport Material for Efficient Perovskite Solar Cells With Reduced Device Cost
Y. Sun, C. Wang, D. Zhao, J. Yu, X. Yin, C. R. Grice, R. A. Awni, N. Shrestha, Y. Yu, L. Guan, R. J. Ellingson, W. Tang, and Y. Yan
12/22/2017
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. Zhang, E. C. Wegener, J. T. Miller, H. I. Kenttämaa, and R. Agrawal
11/13/2017
One-step facile synthesis of a simple carbazole-cored hole transport material for high-performance perovskite solar cells
X. Yin, L. Guan, J. Yu, D. Zhao, C. Wang, N. Shrestha, Y. Han, Q. An, J. Zhou, B. Zhou, Y. Yu, C. R. Grice, R. A. Awni, F. Zhang, J. Wang, R. J. Ellingson, Y. Yan, and W. Tang
10/1/2017
Highly Sensitive Low‐Bandgap Perovskite Photodetectors with Response from Ultraviolet to the Near‐Infrared Region
W. Wang, D. Zhao, F. Zhang, L. Li, M. Du, C. Wang, Y. Yu, Q. Huang, M. Zhang, L. Li, J. Miao, Z. Lou, G. Shen, Y. Fang, and Y. Yan
9/13/2017
Water Vapor Treatment of Low-Temperature Deposited SnO2 Electron Selective Layers for Efficient Flexible Perovskite Solar Cells
C. Wang, L. Guan, D. Zhao, Y. Yu, C. R. Grice, Z. Song, R. A. Awni, J. Chen, J. Wang, X. Zhao, and Y. Yan
8/25/2017
Progress in Theoretical Study of Metal Halide Perovskite Solar Cell Materials
Z. Xiao, and Y. Yan
8/25/2017
Chemical Origin of the Stability Difference between Copper(I)‐ and Silver(I)‐Based Halide Double Perovskites
Z. Xiao, K. Du, W. Meng, D. B. Mitzi, and Y. Yan
8/23/2017
Parity-Forbidden Transitions and Their Impact on the Optical Absorption Properties of Lead-Free Metal Halide Perovskites and Double Perovskites
W. Meng, X. Wang, Z. Xiao, J. Wang, D. B. Mitzi, and Y. Yan
6/16/2017
Understanding and Eliminating Hysteresis for Highly Efficient Planar Perovskite Solar Cells
C. Wang, C. Xiao, Y. Yu, D. Zhao, R. A. Awni, C. R. Grice, K. Ghimire, I. Constantinou, W. Liao, A. J. Cimaroli, P. Liu, J. Chen, N. J. Podraza, C. Jiang, M. M. Al‐Jassim, X. Zhao, and Y. Yan
5/11/2017
Synergistic Effects of Lead Thiocyanate Additive and Solvent Annealing on the Performance of Wide-Bandgap Perovskite Solar Cells
Y. Yu, C. Wang, C. R. Grice, N. Shrestha, D. Zhao, W. Liao, L. Guan, R. A. Awni, W. Meng, A. J. Cimaroli, K. Zhu, R. J. Ellingson, and Y. Yan
5/1/2017
Compositional and morphological engineering of mixed cation perovskite films for highly efficient planar and flexible solar cells with reduced hysteresis
C. Wang, D. Zhao, Y. Yu, N. Shrestha, C. R. Grice, W. Liao, A. J. Cimaroli, J. Chen, R. J. Ellingson, X. Zhao, and Y. Yan
5/1/2017
Intrinsic Instability of Cs2In(I)M(III)X6 (M = Bi, Sb; X = Halogen) Double Perovskites: A Combined Density Functional Theory and Experimental Study
Z. Xiao, K. Du, W. Meng, J. Wang, D. B. Mitzi, and Y. Yan
4/24/2017
Low-bandgap mixed tin–lead iodide perovskite absorbers with long carrier lifetimes for all-perovskite tandem solar cells
D. Zhao, Y. Yu, C. Wang, W. Liao, N. Shrestha, C. R. Grice, A. J. Cimaroli, L. Guan, R. J. Ellingson, K. Zhu, X. Zhao, R. Xiong, and Y. Yan
3/1/2017
Employing Overlayers To Improve the Performance of Cu2BaSnS4 Thin Film based Photoelectrochemical Water Reduction Devices
J. Ge, P. J. Roland, P. Koirala, W. Meng, J. L. Young, R. Petersen, T. G. Deutsch, G. Teeter, R. J. Ellingson, R. W. Collins, and Y. Yan
1/30/2017
Synthesis and characterization of photoelectrochemical and photovoltaic Cu2BaSnS4 thin films and solar cells
J. Ge, and Y. Yan
1/1/2017
Cu-based quaternary chalcogenide Cu2BaSnS4 thin films acting as hole transport layers in inverted perovskite CH3NH3PbI3 solar cells
J. Ge, C. R. Grice, and Y. Yan
1/1/2017
A layered Na1−xNiyFe1−yO2double oxide oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalyst for highly efficient water-splitting
B. Weng, F. Xu, C. Wang, W. Meng, C. R. Grice, and Y. Yan
1/1/2017
Cost-effective hole transporting material for stable and efficient perovskite solar cells with fill factors up to 82%
L. Guan, X. Yin, D. Zhao, C. Wang, Q. An, J. Yu, N. Shrestha, C. R. Grice, R. A. Awni, Y. Yu, Z. Song, J. Zhou, W. Meng, F. Zhang, R. J. Ellingson, J. Wang, W. Tang, and Y. Yan
1/1/2017
Solution-processed copper arsenic sulfide thin films for photovoltaic applications
S. A. McClary, J. Andler, C. A. Handwerker, and R. Agrawal
1/1/2017
Tracking the maximum power point of hysteretic perovskite solar cells using a predictive algorithm
A. J. Cimaroli, Y. Yu, C. Wang, W. Liao, L. Guan, C. R. Grice, D. Zhao, and Y. Yan
1/1/2017
Bandgap Engineering of Barium Bismuth Niobate Double Perovskite for Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation
B. Weng, Z. Xiao, W. Meng, C. R. Grice, T. Poudel, X. Deng, and Y. Yan
12/22/2016
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. Tan, R. J. Ellingson, R. W. Collins, and Y. Yan
12/8/2016
Distant-Atom Mutation for Better Earth-Abundant Light Absorbers: A Case Study of Cu2BaSnSe4
Z. Xiao, W. Meng, J. V. Li, and Y. Yan
12/2/2016
Improving the Performance of Formamidinium and Cesium Lead Triiodide Perovskite Solar Cells using Lead Thiocyanate Additives
Y. Yu, C. Wang, C. R. Grice, N. Shrestha, J. Chen, D. Zhao, W. Liao, A. J. Cimaroli, P. J. Roland, R. J. Ellingson, and Y. Yan
10/26/2016
Fabrication of Efficient Low-Bandgap Perovskite Solar Cells by Combining Formamidinium Tin Iodide with Methylammonium Lead Iodide
W. Liao, D. Zhao, Y. Yu, N. Shrestha, K. Ghimire, C. R. Grice, C. Wang, Y. Xiao, A. J. Cimaroli, R. J. Ellingson, N. J. Podraza, K. Zhu, R. Xiong, and Y. Yan
9/19/2016
Optical monitoring of CH3NH3PbI3thin films upon atmospheric exposure
K. Ghimire, D. Zhao, A. Cimaroli, W. Ke, Y. Yan, and N. J. Podraza
9/9/2016
Lead‐Free Inverted Planar Formamidinium Tin Triiodide Perovskite Solar Cells Achieving Power Conversion Efficiencies up to 6.22%
W. Liao, D. Zhao, Y. Yu, C. R. Grice, C. Wang, A. J. Cimaroli, P. Schulz, W. Meng, K. Zhu, R. Xiong, and Y. Yan
8/29/2016
Earth-Abundant Orthorhombic BaCu2Sn(SexS1–x)4 (x ≈ 0.83) Thin Film for Solar Energy Conversion
J. Ge, Y. Yu, and Y. Yan
8/23/2016
Thermodynamic Stability and Defect Chemistry of Bismuth‐Based Lead‐Free Double Perovskites
Z. Xiao, W. Meng, J. Wang, and Y. Yan
8/4/2016
Improved Performance of Electroplated CZTS Thin‐Film Solar Cells with Bifacial Configuration
J. Ge, Y. Yu, W. Ke, J. Li, X. Tan, Z. Wang, J. Chu, and Y. Yan
7/11/2016
A direct solution deposition approach to CdTe thin films
C. K. Miskin, A. Dubois-Camacho, M. O. Reese, and R. Agrawal
1/1/2016
Low-temperature plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition of tin oxide electron selective layers for highly efficient planar perovskite solar cells
C. Wang, D. Zhao, C. R. Grice, W. Liao, Y. Yu, A. Cimaroli, N. Shrestha, P. J. Roland, J. Chen, Z. Yu, P. Liu, N. Cheng, R. J. Ellingson, X. Zhao, and Y. Yan
1/1/2016
Earth-abundant trigonal BaCu2Sn(SexS1−x)4(x = 0–0.55) thin films with tunable band gaps for solar water splitting
J. Ge, Y. Yu, and Y. Yan
1/1/2016
Trigonal Cu2-II-Sn-VI4 (II = Ba, Sr and VI = S, Se) quaternary compounds for earth-abundant photovoltaics
F. Hong, W. Lin, W. Meng, and Y. Yan
1/1/2016
Thermally evaporated methylammonium tin triiodide thin films for lead-free perovskite solar cell fabrication
Y. Yu, D. Zhao, C. R. Grice, W. Meng, C. Wang, W. Liao, A. J. Cimaroli, H. Zhang, K. Zhu, and Y. Yan
1/1/2016
Optoelectronic Characterization of Emerging Solar Absorber Cu3AsS4 in 2019 IEEE 46th Photovoltaic Specialists Conference
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
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
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