The Electronic and Photonic Molecular Materials group at the University of Sheffield develops novel photovoltaic materials and processes to enable a new era of low-cost solar energy. Our work centres around the development of organic-inorganic metal-halide perovskites and related materials. These perovskites have shown the potential for low-temperature processed, high efficiency, printable and spray-coatable layers which could be the future for incredibly low-cost energy. Perovskites could also have applications for off-grid generation, connecting communities that currently don’t have access to consistent electricity.
As part of the START project, EPMM use our experience of synchrotron techniques (such as Grazing Incidence Wide-angle X-ray Scattering, GIWAXS) to collaborate on the analysis of structural formation and degradation of perovskite materials. High efficiency solar cells are possible at lab scale, but without careful design perovskites can degrade rapidly from a combination of common environmental factors like moisture and oxygen. By investigating the effect of these various factors we can understand degradation processes and design new material formulations and layers that are resistant to these impacts. Our work also looks at scalability of the layer formation processes and understanding how they form during spray-coating or evaporating. Together with expertise drawn from other Universities in the project, we can develop fundamental insights into the mechanisms at work when making or breaking perovskites, paving the way for commercialisation of these innovative materials.
