Yinghong Hu
Butenandtstr. 11 (Building E)
81377 Munich
Tel: +49 (0)89/2180-77561
[email protected]
Synthesis and characterization of organic-inorganic lead halide perovskites
for photovoltaic applications
Yinghong Hu, Department of Chemistry and Center for NanoScience (CeNS),
Ludwig-Maximilians University (LMU) Munich
In times of global warming and increasing energy demands, the interest in alternative energy sources has
strongly increased. The sun is one of the most important sources for renewable energy. Harvesting and
converting the abundant solar energy into electricity in a cheap and efficient way remains a challenging field
of research.
Recently, a new class of materials has emerged as the fastest growing photovoltaic technology in history:
organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites. These hybrid materials incorporating metal halides and organic cations
have been proven to be excellent light absorbers, showing extraordinary optoelectronic properties while
simultaneously being easily processed from solution; a rare combination in high-performance semiconductors.
Impressive advances in the field of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have been achieved within the past few years,
with a state-of-the-art power conversion efficiency already competitive with poly-Silicon and other established
commercial technologies. Besides the outstanding performance of PSCs, their low manufacturing costs are a
considerable advantage, which makes PSCs a serious competitor to established photovoltaic systems.
The aim of the project is to synthesize and characterize novel lead halide perovskite materials by incorporating
new organic cations and processing via solution-based methods, particularly focusing on quantum
confinement in 2D/3D layered perovskite structures. The work of the candidate will be focused on the
development of synthesis procedures for the new perovskite compounds and their incorporation into
photoactive devices. A large variety of characterization techniques are available in our group to study the
newly obtained perovskite materials, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis spectroscopy,
photoluminescence (PL) measurements and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The photovoltaic
performance of the emerging perovskite solar cells will be determined by current-voltage measurements
under one sun illumination employing an automated solar simulator.
The research groups of Dr. Pablo Docampo (http://www.cup.lmu.de/pc/docampo/) and Professor Thomas
Bein (http://bein.cup.uni-muenchen.de/) are located at the Campus Großhadern in the southwest of Munich.
The Docampo group is working on hybrid perovskite materials for optoelectronic applications. The LMU
Munich is one of the leading universities in Germany; it offers a broad range of programs in the fields of
humanities, medicine, law, and particularly in natural sciences. The Munich area offers many cultural highlights
and major events. It is located in one of the most beautiful parts of Germany in the southern part of Bavaria
close to the Alps.