UHasselt: Institute for Materials Research (IMO-IMOMEC) / Hybrid Halide Perovskites for Energy Applications (HyMaD)

General expertise of the research group

The research institute Imo-Imomec at UHasselt is a joint initiative of imec and UHasselt with a joint expertise. About half of our research activity is related to thin film photovoltaic, including CIGS, organic, inorganic, hybrid perovskites PV. The expertise of our 3 divisions (Chemistry, Physics and Engineering Technology) is brought together and use towards fundamental research, applied research and device engineering of (semi-)conductor materials. It covers synthesis, structural characterization, material processing and device physics. The institute has developed many original contributions to the chemistry and physics of conjugated small molecules and polymers including development of novel synthesis routes and has built up an internationally recognized strong reputation in the domain. Since 2016, the synthesis activities include ammonium functionalized chromophores for integration in 2D layered Hybrid Organic Inorganic Perovskites (HOIP) (Dirk VANDERZANDE (UHasselt), Laurence LUTSEN (Imec-imomec).

Specific hydrogen- related expertise & research topics

• Development of high-efficiency and stable hybrid perovskite (3D and 2D layered) and organic semiconductor molecules for application in PEC and PV+EC.
• Structural characterization
• Thin film morphology

Available equipment/tools:

• Fully equipped organic and hybrid materials synthesise and spectroscopic characterisations including Schlenk lines to work under inert conditions.
• Liquid NMR
• Solid state NMR to evaluate both amorphous and crystalline phases and molecular miscibility of blends at the nm scale.
• State-of-the-art glovebox systems to produce perovskite materials under inert conditions.
• Solvent purification system connected to the glovebox
• MALDI-TOF
• Vacuum sublimation system for small organic molecules
• FTIR, Raman, UV-Vis spectroscopy
• SEM and TEM

Participating in FL/B/EU funded projects with H2 related research:

• CLEANH2, Fundamental Research in Solar-driven Hydrogen Generation using Earth-abundant Catalysts and Durable Hybrid Perovskites as Light Absorbers. Funding agency: BOF project. UHasselt research groups, 5 principal Investigators. 2021-2025.
• PROCEED, Hybrid Perovskites as Material Platform for Conversion, Emission and Detection of Light. Funding agency: FWO, SBO project. UHasselt, UGent, KULeuven, UAntwerpen and IMEC as the coordinator of the project. 2020-2024
• FWO senior research project. A fundamental study of energy and charge transfer processes in low dimensional organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites. Funding agency: FWO. PI: Dirk Vanderzande. FWO 019-16
• FWO PhD fellowship Martijn Mertens. 2D perovskite-induced self-organization of conjugated chromophores for efficient and stable optoelectronic applications. 01/01/2018-31/12/2021
• FWO PhD fellowship Arthur Maufort. Self-assembly of organic donor-acceptor complexes within a perovskite structure: a fundamental study of the relationship between optoelectronic and structure properties.01/11/2020-31/10/2024

International collaborations

• TUDelft, Prof. Dr. Ferdinand Grozema, Time-resolved Microwave Conductivity
• Arizona State University, Prof. Dr. Brent Nannenga, Cryo Electron Microscopy
• CSEM, Dr. Brett Kamino and Dr. Björn Niesen, large area perovskite solar cells
• Solaronix, Dr. David Martineau, large area perovskite solar cells
• University of Toronto, Dr. Amin Morteza Najarian (Sargent group), Electro Optical Modulation
• Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Prof. Dr. Maria Antonietta Loi, photophysics and solar cells
• Victoria University of Wellington, Dr. Kai Chen, femtosecond luminescence
• TUEindhoven, Prof. Dr. René Janssen, in-situ absorption spectroscopy during spin-coating

Main relevant publications

1. 2D layered perovskite containing functionalised benzothieno-benzothiophene molecules: formation, degradation, optical properties and photoconductivity. Van Gompel, Wouter T. M.; Herckens, Roald; Denis, Paul-Henry; Mertens, Martijn; Gelvez-Rueda, Maria C.; Van Hecke, Kristof; Ruttens, Bart; D’Haen, Jan; Grozema, Ferdinand C.; Lutsen, Laurence; Vanderzande, Dirk. Journal of Materials Chemistry C: Materials for Optical and Electronic Devices, 2020, 8(21), 7181-7188.
2. Inducing charge separation in solid-state two-dimensional hybrid perovskites through the incorporation of organic charge-transfer complexes. Gelvez-Rueda, Maria C.; Van Gompel, Wouter T. M.; Herckens, Roald; Lutsen, Laurence; Vanderzande, Dirk; Grozema, Ferdinand C. Journal of Physical
   Chemistry Letters, 2020, 11(3), 824-830.
3. Lead-Halide Perovskites Meet Donor-Acceptor Charge-Transfer Complexes. Marchal, Nadege; Van Gompel, Wouter; Gelvez-Rueda, Maria C.; Vandewal, Koen; Van Hecke, Kristof; Boyen, Hans-Gerd; Conings, Bert; Herckens, Roald; Maheshwari, Sudeep; Lutsen, Laurence; Quarti, Claudio; Grozema,
   Ferdinand C.; Vanderzande, Dirk; Beljonne, David. Chemistry of Materials, 2019, 31(17), 6880-6888.
4. Low-Dimensional Hybrid Perovskites Containing an Organic Cation with an Extended Conjugated System: Tuning the Excitonic Absorption Features. Van Gompel, Wouter T. M.; Herckens, Roald; Van Hecke, Kristof; Ruttens, Bart; D’Haen, Jan; Lutsen, Laurence; Vanderzande, Dirk. ChemNanoMat,
   2019, 5(3), 323-327.
5. Towards 2D layered hybrid perovskites with enhanced functionality: introducing charge-transfer complexes via self-assembly. Van Gompel, Wouter T. M.; Herckens, Roald; Van Hecke, Kristof; Ruttens, Bart; D’Haen, Jan; Lutsen, Laurence; Vanderzande, Dirk. Chemical Communications, 2019, 55(17), 2481-2484.
6. Layered hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite materials. Lutsen, Laurence; Vanderzande, Dirk. IMEC VZW, Belg.; Universiteit Hasselt. Jan 31, 2019. Patent WO 2019020612A1.
7. Multi-layered hybrid perovskites templated with carbazole derivatives: optical properties, enhanced moisture stability and solar cell characteristics. Herckens, Roald; Van Gompel, Wouter T. M.; Song, Wenya; Gelvez-Rueda, Maria C.; Maufort, Arthur; Ruttens, Bart; D’Haen, Jan; Grozema, Ferdinand C.; Aernouts, Tom; Lutsen, Laurence; Vanderzande, Dirk. Journal of Materials Chemistry A: Materials for Energy and Sustainability, 2018, 6(45), 22899-22908.
8. Degradation of the Formamidinium Cation and the Quantification of the Formamidinium Methylammonium Ratio in Lead Iodide Hybrid Perovskites by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy. Van Gompel, Wouter T. M.; Herckens, Roald; Reekmans, Gunter; Ruttens, Bart; DHaen, Jan; Adriaensens, Peter; Lutsen, Laurence; Vanderzande, Dirk. Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2018, 122(8), 4117-4124.