Research Projects

Photoinduced charge separation, electron transfer, hot electron extraction, and excitation energy transfer are essential processes for harvesting photon energy. Organic-inorganic hybrid materials with perovskite crystal structure, such as perovskite quantum dot (PQD), have emerged as performer materials for solar energy conversion due to their extraordinary optoelectronic properties. However, understanding the nature of photo-generated species and their dynamics is only just emerging. Despite their performance as hole transport materials in perovskite solar cells, no attempt has been made to develop composite materials with perovskite and macrocyclic tetrapyrrole systems (MTP), such as porphyrin (MTP/Por) and phthalocyanine (MTP/Pc) derivatives. To overcome efficiency limitations in energy capture and conversion, the authors propose developing PQD-MTP/Por & PQD-MTP/Pc nanocomposites, comprising 2D/3D-structured PQD and MTP/Por and MTP/Pc systems, respectively. Two approaches are proposed to prepare PQD-MTP nanocomposites: preparing suitable ligand-caped all-inorganic perovskite quantum dots (AIPQDs) and organic-inorganic perovskite quantum dots (OIPQDs) and using meso-substituted (aminophenyl) MTPs as capping ligands. The researchers will explore the role of binding kinetics of MTPs with perovskite quantum dot on photo-induced charge separated state generation and their ensuing relaxation dynamics, as well as the role of MTPs and its binding strength to PQD in charge-carrier recombination mechanisms as hole scavengers. Finally, prototype perovskite solar cell devices will be fabricated using PQD-MTP nanocomposites, showing favorable relaxation dynamics and evaluating efficiency parameters.