PhD Studentship: Characterisation of Organic/Inorganic Perovskite-Structured Hybrid Materials for P

Methyl ammonium lead iodide (MALI) has recently been shown to have an exceptional photo voltaic (PV) efficiency (20%) but doubts exist as to whether this compound is stable enough in the environment (moisture/freeze-thaw cycles) to give long term reliability in low cost PV cell architectures. This project will explore the use of inorganic and organic dopants in the perovskite structure to control the stability during both fabrication of the device architecture and its subsequent usage in ambient. The project is part funded by Dyesol UK Ltd in Manchester where the successful candidate will undergo short term secondments to perform deposition work and characterisation of the PV properties. Electrical characterisation of the perovskite-structured materials will be carried at Materials Science and Engineering, Sheffield in our newly refurbished ’state of the art’ labs and structural and microstructural studies performed using our extensive electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction facilities.

Funding Notes

This studentship will pay tuition fees in full and a stipend for living expenses for 3 years. This stipend will be at the RCUK minimum which for the 2016/17 year is £14,296pa plus a top up of £2,000pa. This figure may rise in line with inflation in subsequent years. This studentship will be provided by the University of Sheffield and Dyesol.

To be eligible, you must be a U.K. citizen who has been resident in the UK for at least 3 years prior to starting the degree. For further information please contact the lead supervisor Prof I Reaney i.m.reaney@sheffield.ac.uk