Design and Application of Tailored Organic Molecules for Hybrid Perovskites and Their Devices

In this talk, I will present recent results of the Hybrid Materials Design (HyMaD) group at Hasselt University in Belgium on the design and application of tailored organic molecules for hybrid perovskites and their devices.

In the first part of my talk, I will give examples of how the molecular structure of the organic cations can indirectly or directly influence the optical and electronic properties of low-dimensional hybrid perovskites. On the one hand, the molecular structure can give rise to various inter- and intramolecular interactions in the organic layer, influencing the distortion of the inorganic framework and thereby tuning the optical and electronic properties. On the other hand, tailored organic cations with suitable frontier energy levels can also directly influence the optical and electronic properties of the hybrid. Such cations are then 'electroactive'.

In the second part of my talk, the importance of the molecular design of phosphonic acids as self-assembling molecules (SAMs) for use as hole-transporting materials in perovskite solar cells will be showcased. The molecular structure of the phosphonic acid strongly influences the coverage of the ITO substrate, energy level alignment with the perovskite absorber layer, and the performance and stability of the resulting solar cells.