Abstract

The solar industry is rapidly emerging as one of the fastest-growing sectors, driven by the urgent need to address the global energy crisis and environmental challenges. Among the innovative technologies, third-generation solar cells – particularly organic and perovskite solar cells (OSCs and PSCs) - stand out due to their unique advantages of being solution-processible. Unlike traditional silicon-based technologies, solution processing is more cost-effective, scalable, and environmentally friendly. It facilitates the production of flexible, lightweight solar cells, which are suitable for a variety of niche applications, such as wearable electronics, building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), portable power solutions for off-grid locations, and agrivoltaics, which combine energy production with agriculture. In this talk, we will present our recent progress on decoding the multi-length scale active layer morphology of OSCs and PSCs. For OSCs, we will introduce two innovative methods: GTSAXS, which allows for the quantification of vertical nanomorphology, and GISANS combined with deuteration, a technique used to detect amorphous phase structures. For PSCs, we will focus on the crystallization pathways of different perovskite systems and the impact on the mechanical properties of flexible devices.

Reference:

[1] Y. Fu, L. Xu, Y Li, E-J. Yang, Y. Guo, G. Cai, P. F. Chan, Y. Ke, C-J Su, U-S Jeng, P. C. Y. Chow, J-S Kim, M-C Tang,* and X. Lu*, Enhancing inter-domain connectivity by reducing fractal dimension: the key to passivating deep traps in organic photovoltaics. Energy Environ. Sci., 17, 8893-8903 (2024) .

[2] G. Cai, Y. Li, Y. Fu, H. Yang, L. Mei, Z. Nie, T. Li, H. Liu, Y. Ke, X.-L. Wang, J.-L. Brédas, M-C Tang, X. Chen, X. Zhan, and X. Lu, Deuteration-enhanced neutron contrasts to probe amorphous domain sizes in organic photovoltaic bulk heterojunction films. Nat. Commun., 15, 2784 (2024).

[3] P. F. Chan, M. Qin, C-J Su, L. Ye, X. Wang, Y. Wang, X. Guan, Z. Lu, G. Li, T. Ngai, S. W. Tsang, N. Zhao, and X. Lu*, Iso-BAI Guided Surface Recrystallization for Over 14% Tin Halide Perovskite Solar Cells. Adv. Sci., 2309668 (2024).

[4] X. Xia, L. Mei, R. Sun, S. Li, C-Y Chen, J-M Lin, J. Min*, H. Chen*, X.-K. Chen* and X. Lu*, Uncovering the Crystalline Packing Advantages of Asymmetric Y-series Acceptors for Efficient Additive-insensitive and Intrinsically Stable Organic Solar Cells. Adv. Energy Mater, 2303785 (2024).

Brief Bio: Prof. Xinhui Lu is currently an associate professor at the Department of Physics, CUHK. 

Dr. Lu earned her bachelor’s degree from Nanjing University and her PhD degree from Yale University. Then, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Brookhaven National Laboratory before joining CUHK. Her research focuses on the structure and dynamics of thin-film optoelectrical materials, including studying the three-dimensional bulk heterojunction morphology of organic photovoltaics, understanding the film formation mechanisms of perovskite solar cells, and establishing the correlation between structure, processing and device performance. She is a pioneer in developing innovative X-ray and neutron scattering techniques. She was recognized as a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher and received CUHK Young Researcher Award and NSFC Excellent Young Scientists Fund (Hong Kong and Macau). She was elected as a member of the Hong Kong Young Academy of Sciences in 2024 and conferred the title of “RGC Research Fellow” in 2025.

Address:United States