Chemistry Weekly Seminar - Kianoosh Poorkazem
PhD student, Kianoosh Poorkazem, from the Kelly Group will be presenting a seminar on his PhD research
Speaker: Kianoosh Poorkazem
Department of Chemistry, University of Saskatchewan
Title: Plasmonics in Upconversion and Flexibility, Stability, and Efficiency in Perovskite Solar Cells
Solar cells are a renewable, clean alternative to fossil fuels. As a conventional type of them, silicon solar cells are used in about 90% of commercial modules. Despite having high efficiency and stability, silicon solar cells are costly and rigid. To acquire an efficient, stable, cost-effective, and flexible module, different strategies have been considered by researchers. One is photon upconversion where multiple sub-bandgap photons can be converted into a single photon of higher energy, allowing it to be absorbed by the semiconductor of a solar cell. Another is the fabrication of perovskite solar cells, which are flexible, cost-effective, and efficient (although unstable). In this seminar, I will talk about the use of plasmonics to enhance the quantum yield of the photon upconversion process. Using another strategy, I will show the inflexible metal oxide electrode of a perovskite device can be replaced by a flexible, polymer-based one. Finally, I will present results of the compositional engineering of the perovskite layer, where having organic cations with a delocalized positive charge is shown to improve the stability of the devices. Promisingly, this is shown to be in line with the fabrication of perovskite solar cells with excellent efficiency.