The Stride Lab has strong research links with research groups in the School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering here at UNSW.
This synergy of chemistry and device engineering is bringing signifcant advances in thin film, perovskite and orgnaic photovoltaic devices.
Currently we are looking at device architectures and interfaces in devices based on thin films of kesterite and lead halide-type perovskite active layers and organic bulk heterojunction cells.
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Collaboration with A/Prof. Xiaojing Hao
A/Prof. Hao (Jeana) is a world-leader in the development of kesterite PVs. Kesterite is a sulfide mineral that is often referred to as CZTS in the synthetic form (copper zinc tin sulfide), consistent with its doped chemical formula, Cu2(Zn)SnS4. This is an attractive material due to the Earth-abundant and low-cost composition. The role that chemistry can play in these devices is in the wet chemical deposition processes of the films and defect-induced ion diffusion observed across the interfaces of laminated devices.
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Collaboration with A/Prof. Xiaojing Hao
We are partciularly interested in overcoming the current bottle-neck in the incredibly rapid rise in the device efficiencies of lead halide based perovskite cells. Whilst most of advances in these devices are a result of focusing on the active perovskite layer, we feel that neighbouring charge transport layers such as the organic hole transport layer hold the key to further advances.
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Collaboration with A/Prof. Ashraf Uddin
Blended films of donor-acceptor polymers have great potential for low-cost, flexible devices, but currently lag behind the leading PV device types such as commercial Si cells and emerging perovskite cells. Recent advances have closed the gap somewhat, our current research is focused on the interfacial regions of the charge transport layers with a view to achieving greater overall device efficiencies.
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Collaboration with Dr. Rob Patterson
Nanoparticles such as quantum dots have been used to boost cell efficiencies by harvesting excess thermal energy - so-called hot carrier devices. Much of our common work has been based around nanoparticle synthesis for inclusion in PV devices, although more recently this has extended to alternative energy sources such as biofuels and energy harvesting from biomass.