- This event has passed.
MSE Seminar: “Understanding Degradation in Metal Halide Perovskite Solar Cells and Modules”
November 10, 2022 at 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have been the focus of much research in recent years due to their extremely high photoconversion efficiencies and their ability to be synthesized by solution processing. These materials crystallize in the perovskite, AMX3 crystal structure where A is a monovalent cation (e.g. methyl ammonium, MA, formamidinium, FA, and/or Cs), M is the metal cation and X is the halide anion. While great strides have been made to optimize the device performance of PSCs, there remain open questions as to the long-term field performance of these materials. While constant improvement in lab scale performance stability is being demonstrated a fundamental understanding of degradation mechanisms can still provide key insight into performance improvements. In addition, to fundamental lab scale studies field performance will be required to de-risk this technology for commercialization. In this talk, I will cover examples of both lab scale and field studies to improve our understanding of PSCs degradation mechanisms. First, I will discuss an application of X-ray scattering methods to probe the nanoscale heterogeneity of PSC absorber layers and couple these results to device level stability studies to understand the role heterogeneity plays in device performance. Finally, I will present a brief overview of an initial field demonstration of PSC modules as part of the Perovskite PV Accelerator for Commercializing Technologies, PACT, program. Together this work aims to improve our confidence in real world PSC module performance.
Laura T. Schelhas
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, USA
Laura Schelhas is a senior scientist and the manager of the Hybrid and Nanoscale Materials Chemistry Group at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Her current research interests are focused on the intersection between PV reliability, emerging new technologies, and materials characterization. Laura also serves as the deputy director of the DuraMAT consortium, the deputy director of the US-MAP consortium, and deputy director of the PACT center. Laura received her Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2013 where she studied the influence of nanoscale architecture on the materials properties in magnetic and magnetoelectric materials. In 2014, she accepted a postdoctoral position at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory using in-situ and operando methods to study both the formation and degradation of optoelectronic materials. She became staff at SLAC in the Applied Energy Division in 2016 and served as the deputy director of the division and the group leader for the Grid Integration, Systems & Mobility (GISMo) Lab before taking her current position at NREL in 2020.