ChimicA PER L'ENERGIA

Photovoltaics outdoor and/or indoor: 

In this field, state-of-the-art heterojunction and perovskites technologies are investigated based on innovative organic / inorganic / hybrid materials and in the realization of related photovoltaic device prototypes.
SCITEC research topics deal with the preparation of new hole transport materials (HTM), organic components of perovskite materials, low band gap organic semiconducting polymers as p-type donors and related acceptor materials for organic photovoltaic devices, functional materials soluble in organic and aqueous solvents and inks for efficient charge extraction and slow recombinations at organic-inorganic electrode interfaces. Prototypes are developed by means of modern thin film engineering techniques and characterized in standard conditions. Advanced quantomechanical computational  modelling  has been set up to assist the design of functional perovskite materials without Pb and to comprehend and rationalize the mechanisms of charge separation and transport, the electronic and optical properties and the photo-physics/–chemistry of photovoltaic devices materials. 

Hydrogen 

Our aims are synthesis of innovative materials to produce H2 (reforming, electrolysis), employment and production of H2 in agri-food chains, photoelectrocatalytic and electrolytic production integrated to photovoltaic systems to balance electrical networks and  development of carbon free vectors. 
SCITEC investigations aim to reduce/eliminate the use of critical raw materials, like PGM and rare earths, commonly used in catalysts and electro-caalysts and to integrate the hydrogen vector in agro-food-energy nexus and in the water-energy nexus purification trough highly efficient production processes of bio-hydrogen based on micro-algae. The preparation and use of carbon free hydrogen vectors, the development of innovative materials  for electrocatalysis and  photo-electrocatalysis to be used in organic and water environments and free of critical raw materials are priority research topics at SCITEC.