Dr. Antonio Abate sets up a new Helmholtz Young Investigator Group to improve life span of perovskite solar cells
Dr. Antonio Abate
Dr. Antonio Abate sets up a Helmholtz Young Investigator Group at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin and moved to Berlin a few days ago. His aim: He wants to improve Perovskite solar cells which are one of the most promising material classes to be discovered in the last few years. The scientist will study the materials and interfaces of perovskite solar cells in order to improve their long-term stability.
Antonio Abate came out on top in a highly competitive selection process of the Helmholtz Association and will now receive 300,000 euros per year in funding over a period of five years. He researched, among other places, at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England. He then received a Marie-Skłodowska-Curie grant to work at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland. He currently heads the photovoltaic activities at the Adolphe Merkle Institute of the University of Fribourg, Switzerland.
Aims of the Young Investigator Group “Active Materials and Interfaces for Stable Perovskite Solar Cells”
The photovoltaics industry has always been dominated by silicon-based solar cells. Originally expensive to make, production costs steadily dropped over time to the point where, now, there are practically no savings potentials left in the manufacturing processes for this technology. Accordingly, we need a new generation of cheap and efficient solar cells. Perovskite solar cells are especially promising. Their efficiency has increased very rapidly in recent years. The long-term stability of these cells is crucial for their economic viability, and yet this criterion is still barely studied. Antonio Abate’s goal is now to develop stable perovskite solar cells with an operating life exceeding 25 years.
"To achieve this goal, I want to improve our understanding of the optoelectronic mechanisms responsible for the degradation of material inside perovskite solar cells. I am researching both the fundamental principles and the processing of these solar cells in order to actively control the interfaces between the various layers", said the scientist. Antonio Abate is looking to cooperate with internationally leading research groups and industrial partners from the electronics industry to ensure the development of this technology is genuinely promoted – from materials and components to full PV systems.
About the “Helmholtz Young Investigators” programme
The research programme fosters highly qualified young researchers who completed their doctorate three to six years ago. The heads of the Young Investigator Groups receive support through a tailored training and mentoring programme. The aim of the programme is to strengthen the networking of Helmholtz centres and universities, too. More
- AI agents deliver results – but do they reason scientifically?A research team co-led by Kevin Maik Jablonka from the Helmholtz Institute for Polymers in Energy Applications Jena (HIPOLE Jena) and N. M. Anoop Krishnan from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi has developed Corral, a new benchmark for AI agents in science. The preprint “AI scientists produce results without reasoning scientifically” has been published on arXiv (https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2604.18805). The analysis shows that current systems can execute scientific workflows and deliver results; however, they often do not follow the basic principles of scientific testing and reasoning.
- Materials chemistry shapes the future of catalysisThe synthesis of materials can serve as a tool for developing smart, adaptive electrocatalysts. This rapidly evolving field of research involves in-situ analytics, data-driven discoveries and autonomous robotics. These new approaches could accelerate the discovery of long-lasting and efficient catalysts for future energy conversion and the decarbonisation of the chemical industry. A recent article by Dr Prashanth Menezes and his team in the renowned journal Angewandte Chemie provides an overview of this research.
- BESSY II: How intrinsic oxygen shortens the lifespan of solid-state batteriesAlthough solid-state batteries (SSBs) demonstrate high performance and are intrinsically safe, their capacity currently declines rapidly. A team from the TU Wien, Humboldt-University Berlin and HZB has now analysed a TiS₂|Li₃YCl₆ solid-state half-cell in operando at BESSY II using a special sample environment that allows for non-destructive investigation under real operating conditions. Data obtained by combination of soft and hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS and HAXPES) revealed a new degradation mechanism that had not previously been identified in solid-state batteries. They have gained some surprising insights, particularly regarding the harmful role played by intrinsic oxygen. This study provides valuable information for improving design and handling of such batteries.