University:
University of California, Santa Barbara
Major:
Chemical Engineering
Mentor(s):
Edison Castro
Faculty Sponsor(s):
Luis Echegoyen
Faculty Sponsor's Department(s):
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Project Title:
Curcumin C60 Fullerene Derivatives as Electron Transporting Materials in Inverted Perovskite Solar Cells
Project Description:
Power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) in perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have risen from 3.8% in 2009 to 22.1% in 2016.[1, 2] Fullerene derivatives are effective when used as electron transporting materials (ETMs) in Inverted PSCs because of their exceptional electron transporting properties: high LUMO levels, 3-D electron transport ability, and low reorganization energy. Inverted PSCs based on fullerene derivatives as the ETMs have achieved PCEs up to 20.15%,[3] reduced hysteretic behaviors, and improved device stability.[4-6] Here, four new curcumin C60 fullerene derivatives (1-4) were used as ETMs in inverted PSCs. Preliminary results show a maximum PCE of 12.1% for the curcumin derivatives, whereas the [6,6]-phenyl C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PC61BM) control had a preliminary maximum PCE of 11.48%.