IP Library Granted Patent US 11,711,967
Granted Patent B2
US 11,711,967 · App. 16/986,234 · Granted Jul 25, 2023

Switchable photovoltaic devices

Inventors: Lance Michael Wheeler (Golden, CO); Bryan Anthony Rosales (Boulder, CO); Shuang Cui (Lakewood, CO); David Todd Moore (Arvada, CO)
Assignee: Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC
H10K85/30C04B35/78H01G9/20C04B2235/768C09K9/00H10K30/00
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,711,967
App. No.
16/986,234
Granted
Jul 25, 2023
Kind
B2
Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a composition that includes a scaffold having an internal space and a mixture positioned within the space, where the mixture includes a first phase having a metal halide perovskite and a second phase including at least one of a perovskite precursor and/or a switching molecule, the composition is capable of reversibly switching between a first state having at least one of a first transparency and/or a first color and a second state having at least one of a second transparency and/or a second color.

Claims (28)

1. A composition comprising:

a scaffold comprising an internal space and at least one of a metal oxide or a polymer; and

a mixture positioned within the space, wherein:

the space is defined by a plurality of pores having a pore size between about 1 nm and about 0.1 mm,

the mixture comprises a first phase comprising a metal halide perovskite and a second phase comprising at least one of a perovskite precursor or a switching molecule,

the composition is capable of reversibly switching between a first state comprising a first transparency and a second state comprising a second transparency,

the first state corresponds to the metal halide perovskite being substantially in a first crystalline form comprising at least one of a zero-dimensional network or a one-dimensional network,

the first crystalline form comprises at least one of FA 4 PbI 6 or FA 3 PbI 5 , wherein FA is formamidinium,

the second state corresponds to the metal halide perovskite being substantially in a second crystalline form comprising at least one of a two-dimensional network or a three-dimensional network,

the second crystalline form comprises at least one of FA 2 PbI 4 , FA 3 Pb 2 I 7 , or FAPbI 3 , and the metal halide perovskite comprises a first cation (A), a second cation (B), and an anion (X).

2. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the metal oxide comprises at least one of Al 2 O 3 , TiO 2 , SiO 2 , NiO, ZnO, ZrO 2 , ZnS, CdS, or BaS.

3. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the switching molecule comprises at least one of water, an alcohol, or an amine.

4. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the perovskite precursor comprises A and X.

5. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the second phase further comprises an additive.

6. The composition of claim 5 , wherein the additive comprises at least one of a polar solvent or a polar aprotic ionic liquid.

7. The composition of claim 1 , wherein both the first state and the second state further comprise least one of a colorless appearance or a color comprising at least one of yellow, orange, red, brown, or black.

8. A device comprising:

a photovoltaic layer comprising the composition of claim 1 , wherein the photovoltaic layer has a thickness between about 50 nm and about 1.5 μm.

9. The device of claim 8 , further comprising a reservoir capable of supplying the switching molecule to the mixture.

10. The composition of claim 1 , wherein:

the first crystalline form comprises the structure A n+1 BnX 3n+1 ,

the second crystalline form comprises the structure A n+1−q B n X 3n+1−q ,

the perovskite precursor comprises the structure AX,

the reversible switching follows the equilibrium reaction

A n+1 BnX 3n+1 ↔A n+1−q B n X 3n+1−q +q AX,

n for the first crystalline form is an integer greater than or equal to 1,

n for the second crystalline form is an integer greater than the integer for the first crystalline form, and

q= 1/ n ( n+ 1).

Assignments (3)
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Dec 16, 2025
From: ALLIANCE FOR SUSTAINABLE ENERGY, LLC
To: ALLIANCE FOR ENERGY INNOVATION, LLC
Reel/Frame 073993/0276 →
CONFIRMATORY LICENSE Recorded Jan 12, 2021
From: NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LABORATORY
To: UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Reel/Frame 054891/0214 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Aug 6, 2020
From: WHEELER, LANCE MICHAEL; ROSALES, BRYAN ANTHONY; CUI, SHUANG; MOORE, DAVID TODD
To: ALLIANCE FOR SUSTAINABLE ENERGY, LLC
Reel/Frame 053416/0940 →
Continuity (4)
Provisional Application 63003564 · Apr 1, 2020
Provisional Application 62893472 · Aug 29, 2019
Provisional Application 62882903 · Aug 5, 2019
Related Publication 20210043854A1 · Feb 11, 2021