Amy Neild

Email: a.neild1@ncl.ac.uk

Supervisors

• School of Natural and Environmental Sciences
• Dr Elizabeth Gibson
• School of Engineering
• Dr Pablo Docampo

Project description

The demand for renewable energy is ever-increasing. This is due to the depletion of non-renewable energy resources, coupled with the demand for energy rising. We have become more aware of the effects that burning fossil fuels has on our planet. This has led to research into renewable energy skyrocketing in recent years.

Solar energy is a renewable energy resource as it converts sunlight into usable energy forms. A current leader of the solar energy market is silicon-based solar cells. But fabrication of the most efficient silicon-based solar cells is complex and expensive. Thus, the use of silicon is limited. New third-generation photovoltaic technologies reduce the fabrication cost but maintain the efficiency. A promising alternative is Dye-sensitised Solar Cells (DSCs).

But the efficiency of DSCs is significantly lower than other competing third-generation technologies. For example, perovskite solar cells reach efficiencies as high as 25.2%, whereas DSCs reach only 12.3%. To tackle the efficiency problem, tandem DSCs have replace the counter electrode in the n-type DSC with a p-type DSC. In p-type DSCs, the direction of electron flow is reversed.

Another problem with DSCs is their stability. One of the main causes of degradation of the device is the use of the liquid electrolyte. At high or low temperatures, the electrolyte can expand or freeze. The device can also suffer from electrolyte leakage, and can peel off the organic dyes adsorbed on the semiconductor. We can tackle this problem by replacing the liquid electrolyte with solid-state alternatives.

Solving the stability problems and increasing the efficiency will lead to a highly competitive alternative to silicon solar cells. Thus, in this project, we are developing a solid-state tandem DSC.

Interests

Walking, travelling, reading.

Qualifications

• MPhys Honours (1st)