Pranav Khadilkar
Advisor: Guoxiang(Emma) Hu
will defend a Master’s thesis entitled,
Defect Chemistry of Halide Perovskites for Photovoltaic Applications
On
Monday, April 14th at 11:30 a.m.
1120A Conference Room Klaus
and
Virtually via MS Teams
Committee
Prof. Guoxiang(Emma) Hu – School of MSE (advisor)
Prof. Juan-Pablo Correa-Baena – School of MSE
Prof. Seung Soon Jang – School of MSE
Abstract
The growing demand for energy, coupled with increasing greenhouse gas emissions, makes the development of alternative energy sources essential. Solar energy, the most abundant energy source on Earth, holds considerable potential as a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels, the primary contributors to greenhouse gases. Traditional silicon-based solar cells face limitations, including their indirect band gap and high manufacturing costs. In contrast, halide perovskite-based solar cells offer a highly promising alternative. However, a critical factor influencing the performance of halide perovskites is the presence of defects within their structures. Therefore, understanding defect chemistry and enhancing defect tolerance is vital for developing stable, high-efficiency solar cells. This study evaluates two of the most promising halide perovskite materials-hybrid perovskites and vacancy-ordered double perovskites -while investigating the impact of defects on their electronic and optical properties. The insights from this work will provide valuable design principles for novel perovskite materials in solar cell applications.