Professor Hongxia Wang has received a prestigious $3,023,860 ARC Australian Laureate Fellowship for a project to make next-generation perovskite-based solar cells more durable using molecular engineering.
The research project, entitled ‘Molecular engineering and doping for efficient and affordable solar cells’, aims to develop a process for the ultra-low-cost production of perovskite solar cells so they can replace current solar cells that rely on high-cost precious metal-based conductor materials.
“The new perovskite-based solar cells, produced by low-cost coating technologies, have remarkable power-conversion efficiencies,” Professor Wang, from the QUT Centre of Materials Science, said.
“The aim of this project is to make them more durable and therefore economically viable, using molecular engineering and doping techniques _ which is the intentional introduction of impurities into a semiconductor _ to stabilize the perovskite.
“Meanwhile, we will develop a low-cost carbon based electrode to replace gold electrodes currently used in solar cells to reduce the material cost in perovskite solar cells.”
“Expected outcomes of this project include a new generation of affordable, high-quality, long-lasting solar cells that can be manufactured at scale.
“This project will also position Australia to capitalise on its well-known natural advantage in exploiting solar energy, and to create more skilled jobs and valuable export opportunities.”
Professor Wang, who is from the QUT School of Chemistry and Physics, has been named the 2024 Georgina Sweet ARC Laureate, which is awarded to an outstanding Australian Laureate Fellow from the science and technology discipline.
Through the Georgina Sweet Fellowship, Professor Wang will support Higher Degree by Research students, early-career researchers and mid-career researchers in their career development in multidisciplinary areas spanning chemistry, materials science, and physics.
With a particular focus on women and others who are systematically disadvantaged, Professor Wang will achieve this through a series of activities in each year of the Laureate program.
Professor Wang said the ultimate aim of her research was to develop cost-effective energy materials and devices, in particular photovoltaics materials and devices, to help solve the energy issue in the world.
Media contact:
Rod Chester, 07 3138 9449, rod.chester@qut.edu.au
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