Nano Energy Convergence System Laboratory

To perform water splitting for hydrogen production, a high voltage of >2.2V is required. Tandem solar cells are composed of two solar cells, each absorbing a different range of the solar spectrum, connected in series. This structure can not only use the full range of the solar spectrum, but can also output a high open-circuit voltage (VOC). We have designed all-perovskite tandem solar cells with a high VOC of 2.25V, which we expect to further utilize in all-perovskite based water splitting devices in the future. Thermoelectric devices allow harvesting of heat energy into electrical energy. Currently, we are actively pursuing the development of next-generation “all-kinds-of” thermal energy harvesting devices. By combining solar cells with batteries or supercapacitors, we can design energy convergence systems such as photo-rechargeable batteries and photo-supercapacitors for future energy-plus buildings. Perovskite photodetectors, due to their high performance and excellent form factor, show great promise to potentially replace currently commercialized materials in the near future. We have designed flexible perovskite detectors, which is a feature current silicon and GaAs detectors can not easily replicate. We have also studied on how the interface and bulk properties of perovskite photodiodes will affect the photodetection capabilities.