Research Seminar Abstract:

When used as the active semiconductor in photovoltaic devices, hybrid perovskites preform competitively with industry standard materials, including silicon and cadmium telluride. However, hybrid perovskites are structurally distinct from conventional inorganic semiconductors and therefore have unique structure-property relationships. In particular, although unsubstituted hybrid perovskites degrade under ambient conditions, empirical evidence demonstrates that chemical substitution prevents decomposition without compromising optoelectronic properties. My research investigates the structural effects of chemical substitution to explain this phenomenon. Building a fundamental understanding of the composition- and time-dependent structure of hybrid perovskites is critical to optimizing current hybrid perovskite technologies and  designing the next generation of renewable energy technologies.