Interfaces for Solar Energy Conversion: The Value of a Chemical Approach

The excited states created by solar photon absorption are created in the bulk but extracted through interfaces. Despite remarkable advances in new bulk absorber materials, synthetic methods, and post-processing to achieve longer lifetime, greater grain size, and lower defect densities, many solar energy conversion interfaces are still fashioned like peanut butter on bread (albeit at 1500 rpm). This talk will include recent progress to tailor interfaces with chemical and spacial precision, usually through atomic layer deposition, to advance solar-to-electricity and solar-to-fuels conversion. Air-sensitive perovskite halide solar cells are made to operate in contact with liquid water and few-atom clusters are synthesized with near single atom precision.