Study level

  • PhD

Faculty/School

Faculty of Engineering

School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering

Topic status

We're looking for students to study this topic.

Research centre

Supervisors

Professor Sara Couperthwaite
Position
Professor
Division / Faculty
Faculty of Engineering
Dr Erandi Prangige
Position
Research Fellow
Division / Faculty
Faculty of Engineering

External supervisors

  • Lava Blue

Overview

Investigate, model and experiment on the extraction and recovery of cations and anions, used in the synthesis of perovskite solar cells, from Australian resources.

Australia has the potential to lead globally in supplying precursor materials for next-generation metal halide perovskite solar cells, leveraging its abundant critical minerals and strong mineral processing capabilities with an innovative 'mineral to precursor to final product' strategy.

Research activities

Key responsibilities include performing experimental trials for extracting perovskite precursor cations and anions from Australia sources and developing equilibrium models of the fractional separation of these ions.

Perovskite precursors will be synthesised from these recovered cations and anions, and then used to build perovskite devices to assess the impact of impurities on its performance.

Outcomes

This project focuses on utilising Australian-sourced raw materials to develop and synthesise high-quality perovskite precursors for advanced optoelectronic applications.

Skills and experience

The research group is seeking a highly motivated and talented PhD student to join the research team in the field of chemical engineering, industrial chemistry or in a similar research field that supports a chemical modelling and synthesis of metal halide perovskite precursors project.

Scholarships

You may be eligible to apply for a research scholarship.

Explore our research scholarships

Keywords

Contact

Contact the supervisor Professor Sara Couperthwaite via sara.couperthwaite@qut.edu.au.