Steve Albrecht is one of the “Highly Cited Researchers 2023”
Only a few researchers manage to become internationally recognised in their field. Perovskite researcher Steve Albrecht is one of them, in particular because his team did contribute to several world records for silicon perovskite tandem solar cells. © M. Setzpfandt / HZB
Every year, countless articles are published in specialist journals. The information service provider Clarivate uses a recognised method to measure the influence of the published articles on the respective subject area. According to this year's evaluation, HZB researcher Steve Albrecht is one of the most "highly cited researchers" having a significant influence on his field. Albrecht and his team have been involved in several world records for tandem solar cells in recent years and have published the results in high-ranking scientific journals.
Only one in 1000 active researchers belongs to the circle of “Highly Cited Researchers”. Over the past ten years, those selected have produced a number of excellent publications that other work can build on and which are therefore frequently cited. However, citation activity is not the only selection indicator, writes Clarivate, a company that analyses the Web of Science: For example, publications that show evidence of citation cartels or self-citations have been weeded out. This year, 6,849 researchers from 68 countries and regions were honoured.
From the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, Prof. Dr Steve Albrecht was identified as a “Highly Cited Researcher”. Albrecht leads a team researching perovskite materials for solar cells. Together with other groups at HZB and partner institutions, he has set several world records for the efficiency of tandem solar cells. His research is widely recognised, as evidenced by the “Highly Cited Researchers” award, and is making a significant contribution to the advancement of research in solar energy.
Note: HZB researcher Antonio Abate is also one of the "Highly Cited Researchers 2023", albeit not as an HZB researcher, but with an affiliation to one of his previous academic stations. Abate is also researching perovskite solar cells, which makes HZB perovskite research visible worldwide.
- Lithium-sulphur batteries with lean electrolyte: problem areas clarifiedUsing a non-destructive method, a team at HZB investigated practical lithium-sulphur pouch cells with lean electrolyte for the first time. With operando neutron tomography, they could visualise in real-time how the liquid electrolyte distributes and wets the electrodes across multilayers during charging and discharging. These findings offer valuable insights into the cell failure mechanisms and are helpful to design compact Li-S batteries with a high energy density in formats relevant to industrial applications.
- Self assembling monolayer can improve lead-free perovskite solar cells tooTin perovskite solar cells are not only non-toxic, but also potentially more stable than lead-containing perovskite solar cells. However, they are also significantly less efficient. Now, an international team has succeeded in reducing losses in the lower contact layer of tin perovskite solar cells: The scienstists identified chemical compounds that self-assemble into a molecular layer that fits very well with the lattice structure of tin perovskites. On this monolayer, tin perovskite with excellent optoelectronic quality can be grown, which increases the performance of the solar cell.
- Berlin Science Award goes to Philipp AdelhelmBattery researcher Prof. Dr. Philipp Adelhelm has been awarded the 2024 Berlin Science Award. He is a professor at the Institute of Chemistry at Humboldt University in Berlin (HU) and heads a joint research group at HU and the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin (HZB). The materials scientist and electrochemist is investigating sustainable batteries, which play a key role in the success of the energy transition. He is one of the leading international experts in the field of sodium-ion batteries.