Research Projects

Photovoltaic technology is a promising solution for meeting global energy needs with minimal environmental hazards. Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have emerged as a competitive alternative to conventional silicon-based solar cells due to their simplicity, solution processability, and high power conversion efficiencies. However, challenges such as thermal and operational stability, toxicity concerns, and the need for expensive Hole Transporting Materials (HTMs) limit their commercial deployment. The current project aims to develop cost-effective and efficient alternative HTMs with superior thermal and morphological stability for large-scale PSC applications. The project aims to develop a series of new HTMs based on triphenylamine and carbazole peripheral groups with various core structures and cross-linkable pendant groups to improve the thermal and morphological stability of the HTM layer. The cross-linkable nature of the HTMs could enhance device stability by locking the HTMs in place close to the perovskite layer and enhancing the hydrophobicity of the PSCs. The project also aims to develop cost-effective synthetic strategies for commercial scale fabrication of PSCs. It also aims to optimize PSC device fabrication in n-i-p and p-i-n device architectures with standard materials and in-house prepared HTMs. The major objectives of the project include designing a new library of HTMs to address performance, cost, and stability, and optimizing lab-level PSCs with internationally benchmarked efficiencies of around 20%. This project aligns with national priorities on Renewable Energy and will have a major impact on indigenous efforts under Atmanirbhar Bharat and National Solar mission, accelerating research programs in the field of PSC devices in India.