Organic Nanostructured Photovoltaics

To achieve a sustainable use of the energetic resources on earth, electricity generation as well as systems for the production of solar fuels or energy storage will have to rely on new materials and material configurations able to provide an optimal transformation of sunlight into such other forms of energy. The research of the group focuses on the study and experimental implementation of new nano-photonic structures to achieve such optimal transformation of sunlight. The nano-photonic configurations we implement are previously designed using several powerful computational tools combined with a deep understanding of electromagnetic wave propagation.

The group also focuses into implementing light-management strategies for solar fuels production and energy harvesting and storage. 1D and 3D photonic structures are implemented to maximize the solar absorption and conversion for nanostructured metal oxide photoelectrodes in tandem with organic and perovskite solar cells. Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting and CO₂ reduction reactions are studied coupled by organic and inorganic cocatalysts. Other novel storage strategies like hydrogen storage in the graphene basal plane are also studied.