College of Engineering

Uma Patel

College of Arts & Sciences Chemistry

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Aaron Fafarman

Chemical & Biological Engineering

Ian G. McKendry Co-Mentor

Converting Films of Electrophoresis to Quantified Data

As the world’s population continues to grow, the demand for cheap and efficient sustainable energy is monumental. Nanocrystal thin films have shown great promise for low-cost and scalable photovoltaics (i.e. solar cells). Photovoltaic devices create an electric current in a material upon the exposure to light. These thin films previously relied on inefficient spin coating and dip coating. Research has shown that electrophoretic deposition (EPD) is a low-waste, low-cost, high throughput solution to fabricating photovoltaics. EPD uses an electric field to deposit charged particles on an electrically conductive surface.

My research required knowledge in both chemistry and computer science to develop a Python application that converts a video of an EPD experiment into graphed quantitative data on the deposition kinetics. Automating this process allows researchers to obtain valuable data necessary to better understand the efficiency and kinetics of the deposition process. Graphical data illustrates how the spatial uniformity of the film develops over time. Utilizing computer science in a lab adds an additional layer of knowledge about chemical processes that would otherwise have been manually produced, saving both time and resources.

College of Engineering

Peter Peechatt

College of Engineering

Chemical Engineering

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Aaron Fafarman

Chemical & Biological Engineering

Subham Dastidar

Co-Mentor

Investigating the Properties of Single Perovskite Crystals to Optimize the Stability of Solar Cells

Solar cells offer one method to provide renewable energy. Perovskites are semiconductors that are currently being researched as an efficient solar cell material. When implementing perovskites in solar cells it is important to consider their instability. For example, Formadinium Lead Iodide FAPbI3) is a perovskite with a stable functional black phase that is obtained at a high temperature, however when cooled, it destabilizes forming a non-functional unstable yellow phase. The objective of the experiment is to formulate single crystal perovskite alloys to determine the most structurally stable composition. Optimal conditions to synthesize perovskite single crystals were determined and the resulting product employed to perform stability tests on a uniformly composed sample. Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) will be conducted to observe the phase change energetics of FAPbI3 and the alloy FA Cesium Methylammonium Lead Bromide Iodide (FA/MA/ Cs)Pb(Br/I)3. It was hypothesized that unlike FAPbI3, the (FA/MA/Cs) Pb(Br/I)3 perovskite sample would not destabilize from the black phase to the yellow phase after being cooled down and therefore it would function with more stability in a solar cell.