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Date Permissions Signed

8-2-2019

Date of Award

Summer 2019

Document Type

Masters Thesis

Department or Program Affiliation

Chemistry

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Chemistry

First Advisor

Berger, Robert F.

Second Advisor

Borda, Emily J.

Third Advisor

Kowalczyk, Tim

Abstract

There is an increasing need for alternative energy sources that reduce the global reliance on fossil fuels. Since their demonstration in 2009, perovskite solar cells (based on compounds with the formula ABX3, such as CH3NH3PbI3) have become an extremely promising and active research area. Still, there are obstacles to the widespread use of these technologies, including their instability and the environmental impacts of lead. It is therefore important to find ways to modify and tune the structure and properties of perovskites to optimize their stability and photovoltaic performance. This research explores a family of perovskite relatives known as Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) phases. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations are used to study the structural energetics and electronic structure of RP phases varying in composition (A=Rb, Cs; B=Ge, Sn, Pb; X=Cl, Br, I), structural distortion, and biaxial strain. Among the goals are to explore and understand how strain can be used as a tool for stabilizing RP phases, and to make concrete predictions for routes to tune the structure and properties of perovskite photovoltaic materials.

Type

Text

Keywords

perovskite, cesium, rubidium, germanium, halides, tin, lead, Ruddlesden-Popper, tuning, dft

Publisher

Western Washington University

OCLC Number

1111768766

Subject – LCSH

Perovskite--Research; Photovoltaic cells--Research

Format

application/pdf

Genre/Form

masters theses

Language

English

Rights

Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this thesis for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author's written permission.

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