High resolution and time resolved photoemission spectroscopy for developing more efficient materials to reduce energy consumption and increase renewable energy production

Abstract

Due to the increase of energy consumption and the resulting ecological challenge, a collective awareness leads to the development of renewable energies and more efficient materials to increase the green energy production. Development of efficient photovoltaic materials is very closely related to their chemical and electronic properties. A better knowledge of these imbricated properties is needed, in addition to a better comprehension of their interplay with charge transport mechanisms. Exciton creation and recombination processes, charge transfer and charge collection processes take place at the surface and interface of the photoactive materials. Photoemission spectroscopy as chemical specific and surface sensitive spectroscopic technique is a method of choice on the study of physical phenomena at the origin of photoconversion efficiency. Time resolved photoemission spectroscopy has been recently renewed interest covering time scale from fs to more than seconds. It permits to probe the dynamics of relaxation of photoexcited charges and determine their lifetime. It finds application in various materials used in solar photovoltaics. In this paper, we define the physical and chemical properties determined by the combination of high resolution and time resolved photoemission spectroscopy. We show examples dealing with the development of renewable energy and energy consumption reduction in agreement with the current ecological trend for a better future.