Patterson, Robert | Search NASA

DOE OSTI2021

Flexible and efficient perovskite quantum dot solar cells via hybrid interfacial architecture

All-inorganic CsPbI 3 perovskite quantum dots have received substantial research interest for photovoltaic applications because of higher efficiency compared to solar cells using other quantum dots materials and the various exciting properties that perovskites have to offer. These quantum dot devices also exhibit good mechanical stability amongst various thin-film photovoltaic technologies. We demonstrate higher mechanical endurance of quantum dot films compared to bulk thin film and highlight the importance of further research on high-performance and flexible optoelectronic devices using nanoscale grains as an advantage. Specifically, we develop a hybrid interfacial architecture consisting of CsPbI 3 quantum dot/PCBM heterojunction, enabling an energy cascade for efficient charge transfer and mechanical adhesion. The champion CsPbI3 quantum dot solar cell has an efficiency of 15.1% (stabilized power output of 14.61%), which is among the highest report to date. Building on this strategy, we further demonstrate a highest efficiency of 12.3% in flexible quantum dot photovoltaics.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2020

Multiscale modeling and cinematic visualization of photosynthetic energy conversion processes from electronic to cell scales

We report conversion of sunlight into chemical energy, namely photosynthesis, is the primary energy source of life on Earth. A visualization depicting this process, based on multiscale computational models from electronic to cell scales, is presented in the form of an excerpt from the fulldome show Birth of Planet Earth. This accessible visual narrative shows a lay audience, including children, how the energy of sunlight is captured, converted, and stored through a chain of proteins to power living cells. The visualization is the result of a multi-year collaboration among biophysicists, visualization scientists, and artists, which, in turn, is based on a decade-long experimental-computational collaboration on structural and functional modeling that produced an atomic detail description of a bacterial bioenergetic organelle, the chromatophore. Software advancements necessitated by this project have led to significant performance and feature advances, including hardware-accelerated cinematic ray tracing and instanced visualizations for efficient cell-scale modeling. The energy conversion steps depicted feature an integration of function from electronic to cell levels, spanning nearly 12 orders of magnitude in time scales. This atomic detail description uniquely enables a modern retelling of one of humanity’s earliest stories—the interplay between light and life.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗