Objective
The exploitation of renewable sources of energy is one of the biggest challenges of our time, with wide ranging implications in both Science and Society. The new generation of dye-sensitized solar cells and hybrid polymer-inorganic solar cells represents one of the most exciting developments in this field. These promising devices based on photoactive nanomaterials can be produced at low cost, but they have an overall power conversion efficiency of 10-12%, attributed to short charge carrier recombination times and diffusion lengths. If we hope to improve this performance we must learn how the solar cells behave at the nanoscale, under realistic working conditions.
To achieve this I propose to study photovoltaic materials in the transmission electron microscope, under photon irradiation. The three main areas to pursue are: a) In situ illumination technique development, b) Study of physical properties of solar cells, c) Theoretical interpretation of the spectroscopy results. The work plan of this ERC project will follow different strands in parallel, so that we can explore this novel field more efficiently.
Our in situ illumination technique will be exported to a new monochromated and aberration corrected transmission electron microscope with very high spatial and energy resolution. The ultimate challenge is to provide maps of the electronic properties and photovoltaic behaviour of a solar cell, in particular to evaluate –on the atomic level- the effect of grain boundaries and surfaces on the performance of the device.
We will study both dye-sensitized and bulk heterojunction solar cells, starting from the individual nanostructured components, with the aim of producing working cross-section devices to be mounted and operated inside the electron microscope. Efficient data processing and theoretical interpretation of the microscopy results will be essential to the success of this process, so we will build capabilities in these areas to support and guide the experimental work.
The team I want to lead in this scientific mission is ideally composed of a postdoctoral research assistant and two PhD students. The postdoc will take care of technique development and theoretical aspects, while the students will concentrate on the study of materials and devices.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture grains and oilseeds
- natural sciences physical sciences optics microscopy
- natural sciences computer and information sciences data science data processing
- natural sciences physical sciences theoretical physics particle physics photons
- natural sciences physical sciences optics spectroscopy
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
ERC-2010-StG_20091028
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Host institution
CB2 1TN CAMBRIDGE
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.