Distinguished Lectures at HZB: Prof. T. Krauss will talk about Photovoltaics and Photonic nanostructures
Solar power has the highest potential among all renewable energy sources, it is clean and practically inexhaustible. Despite the already very high performance of silicon solar cells with 25% efficiency and low costs, a lot of research is yet required in order to realise the vision of a solar-powered society. Can we reduce module cost by integrating solar cells into buildings? Can we improve efficiency without increasing cost, by adding low-cost materials such as perovskites? What role can photonic nanostructures play to help control the flow of light?
One of the main problems of photovoltaics is that the sun does not shine much in winter or at night. Can nanophotonics contribute to the storage problem? Thomas Krauss will discuss these and related questions with the goal of informing future research into nanostructures for photovoltaics.
The D-lecture will open the European Workshop on Nanophotonics for Solar Energy – Current Trends and Future Challenges on 25th and 26th November.
Time and location:
We cordially invite you to the talk of Prof. Thomas Krauss, York University, UK.
Date: 25th November 2015 at 11 o’clock am.
Location: lecture hall of the Wilhelm-Conrad-Röntgen-Campus of HZB
After Prof. Krauss’ presentation we will have a lunch buffet and time for informal discussion in the BESSY foyer.
About the speaker:
TF Krauss is a full professor at the University of York, UK, where he leads the Photonics research group and the cleanroom facility in the York Nanocentre. He has published 280 refereed journal articles, with 12000 lifetime citations and an “h” factor of 59, as well as 5 patents. His expertise is in the design and fabrication of photonic crystals and photonic nanostructures where he has made pivotal contributions that turned photonic crystals from an academic curiosity into the ubiquitous concept in Photonics that they are today.
- BESSY II: Evaporated perovskites in tandem solar cells improvedPerovskite-silicon tandem solar cells achieve significantly higher efficiencies than silicon solar cells on their own. One particularly attractive method is co-evaporation of the perovskite precursor molecules on top of the silicon subcell. Scientists at HZB have analysed film growth on the nanoscale at BESSY II and found a new way to improve the quality of the perovskite layer: adding a thin seed layer of caesium chloride between the two sub-cells promotes uniform perovskite growth and suppresses the formation of undesired lead iodide at the interface.
- Green hydrogen with PEC electrolysers: New insights into transport processesOne method of storing solar energy is to use PEC electrolysers to produce hydrogen. However, scaling up this technology remains challenging. Now, a team at the HZB Institute for Solar Fuels has used 2D fluorescence imaging and particle velocimetry to observe the movement of ions and dissolved gases within the electrolyte during electrolysis. These new insights may prove useful in the development of larger PEC electrolysers.
- New contact material boosts the efficiency of perovskite solar cellsA newly developed material for the electron contact improves the efficiency of single perovskite solar cells and perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells. The new material is based on a carborane molecule. It offers several advantages over the standard material C60, as shown by the study led by Steve Albrecht’s team. The new material has since been patented and is already commercially available.