Project Description:

PbS colloidal quantum dots (PbS CQDs) are a promising material for next-generation solar cells and thus are a focus of research for renewable energy. The tunability of PbS CQD sizes allows for precise control of bandgap energy in the visible and near-infrared region, particularly useful for creating multi-junction solar cells. Current commercial solar cells use bulk material in a single-junction architecture, meaning only a certain range of wavelengths of light from the sun is absorbed.

Multi-junction solar cell architectures utilize multiple layers with different properties that absorb across a wider sunlight bandwidth, allowing for power conversion efficiencies that surpass the limits of a single-junction cell. With the goal of building a multi-junction architecture, we aim to optimize the synthesis of CQDs with bandgap energies of 1 eV and 1.6 eV. We also present a novel synthesis method for a single-population of ultrasmall PbS CQDs with an exciton range of 600-800 nm, useful for triple junction solar cells.

Project Photo:

PbS CQD Synthesis Setup