Washington, DC – Today Congresswoman Dina Titus (NV-01), a member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee and House Homeland Security Committee, announced $738,404 in Department of Energy (DOE) funding to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) through the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). The funding will enhance the ongoing clean energy research by EPSCoR investigators at UNLV while also building the university’s capabilities to compete for other federal research and development grants.

“I’m excited to announce this funding for UNLV which will support ongoing research into improving the stability and efficiency of materials utilized in photovoltaic devices which are integral to the clean energy economy,” said Rep. Titus. “I look forward to continuing to support opportunities that put UNLV at the forefront of impactful renewable energy research as we continue to address climate change here in Nevada.” 

Background

UNLV is leading research into next generation solar cells, including the applicability of lead halide perovskite materials.

In recent years, lead halide perovskite materials have received much attention for photovoltaic (PV) applications including usage in solar cells, demonstrating rapid increases in efficiency and the possibility of simple and inexpensive production. The high ion mobility and dynamic disorder in these perovskite crystals, however, creates new science questions that must be answered in order to improve stability and efficiency, especially with regards to interfaces between functional material layers within the PV devices.

The interfacial sensitivity required to study these systems is provided by Soft X-ray Second Harmonic Generation (SXSHG), a recently developed technique that also boasts elemental selectivity and sensitivity to electronic structure. A combination of SXSHG and traditional X-ray characterization methods will be applied to two interfaces relevant to perovskite PV. The detailed understanding that will be obtained will inform strategies for interface engineering in perovskite PV devices for improved stability and performance.

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