Student: Rainie Nelson, Graduate Student in Chemical and Biological Engineering, Iowa State University
Faculty Advisor: Matthew Panthani
Solution-Based Synthesis of Lead-Free Perovskite Nanomaterials
Perovskite solar cells have experienced rapid advancement in recent years. The typical material, methylammonium lead iodide, possesses high power conversion efficiency 
but poor stability upon exposure to humidity. The synthesis of lead-free metal halide perovskite nanomaterials may provide a route to fabricating more stable solar cells with tunable properties and high efficiencies. In addition, the solution-based synthesis would allow for production of flexible solar cells with a wide range of applications.
Specifically, my project focuses on using standard solution-based methods to controllably synthesize bismuth and antimony halide perovskite nanomaterials with various cations. My goal is to obtain control over the morphology of these nanomaterials and their corresponding thin films, enabling the tuning of optoelectronic properties to optimize solar cells fabricated with these materials.