New Way to Power Up Nanomaterials to Create Better Solar Cells and LEDs UCLA materials scientists an

New Way to Power Up Nanomaterials to Create Better Solar Cells and LEDs

UCLA materials scientists and colleagues have discovered that perovskites, a class of promising materials that could be used for low-cost, high-performance solar cells and LEDs, have a previously unutilized molecular component that can further tune the electronic property of perovskites.

Named after Russian mineralogist Lev Perovski, perovskite materials have a crystal-lattice structure of inorganic molecules like that of ceramics, along with organic molecules that are interlaced throughout. Up to now, these organic molecules appeared to only serve a structural function and could not directly contribute to perovskites’ electronic performance.

Led by UCLA, a new study shows that when the organic molecules are designed properly, they not only can maintain the crystal lattice structure, but also contribute to the materials’ electronic properties. This discovery opens up new possibilities to improve the design of materials that will lead to better solar cells and LEDs. The study detailing the research was recently published in Science.

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