Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Engineering Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Low Cost And Durable Perovskite Solar Cells, Jack Carli, Kapil Marahatta, Feras Kakish, Jason Mcaleese Jan 2017

Low Cost And Durable Perovskite Solar Cells, Jack Carli, Kapil Marahatta, Feras Kakish, Jason Mcaleese

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Perovskite solar cells offer an alternative approach to photovoltaic solar power generation versus traditional silicon solar cells, by rivaling their efficiency at potentially less than half the cost. Perovskite’s name comes from the crystal structure that encompasses the active layer (Methylammonium Lead Iodide – CH3NH3PbI3), the region that absorbs photons and generates electrical energy by creating electron hole pairs. The presence of the organic cation (methylammonium) causes degradation of the active layer under humidity, UV light, and high temperature, which lowers the effectiveness of the cells. This project investigates low-cost routes and materials for …


Ab Initio Study Of The Effects Of Humidity On Perovskite Based Hybrid Solar Cell Interfaces, Shantanu Rajendra Rachalwar Jan 2017

Ab Initio Study Of The Effects Of Humidity On Perovskite Based Hybrid Solar Cell Interfaces, Shantanu Rajendra Rachalwar

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Despite the impressive success of perovskite-based hybrid solar cells, their widespread usage has been limited partially owing to stability issues under working environmental conditions. Among these, the effects of humidity are some of the most significant. Water intercalation generally degrades the material, shortens its useful life, and reduces the efficiency of photovoltaic energy conversion. Understanding the reasons for these effects can be achieved through detailed and accurate atomic-scale analysis. Here, we study water intercalation at the interfaces of perovskite-based hybrid solar cell material and TiO2 electrode. Accurate ab initio computer simulations are used to obtain structural and electronic properties. We …


Engineering Of Photo-Rechargeable Energy Storage, Ashim Gurung Jan 2017

Engineering Of Photo-Rechargeable Energy Storage, Ashim Gurung

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Solar photovoltaics (PV) is a very promising renewable energy technologies as it is abundant and pollution-free. However, the major drawback of PV power is its intermittency. Integration of batteries with solar modules can reduce overall PV system costs and increase the practicality of PV power. Integration of the photovoltaic cells with supercapacitor storage proved feasibility of combined photovoltaic energy generation and storage but the supercapacitors had low energy storage capacity. Photovoltaic cells with integrated Li-ion batteries as energy storage were demonstrated but had a complex structure due to multiple PV cells; low efficiency due to a mismatch between the PV …