Prof. Xinhui LU

Award Citation

Professor Xinhui Lu’s research is centered on exploration of the structure and dynamics of functional materials, with a particular focus on organic and perovskite photovoltaic thin films. Her work spans three major directions: 1. Investigating the crystalline packing motifs of organic photovoltaic molecules. 2. Probing three dimensional nanomorphology of organic photovoltaic active layers. 3. Understanding film formation mechanisms of perovskite solar cells. 

Professor Lu has made significant contributions to the fundamental understanding of the correlation between materials structure, processing methods and device performance in both organic and perovskite solar cells. Her research provides essential guidelines for designing photovoltaic materials and optimizing fabrication processes to enhance device performance, stability, and reproducibility. She is also a pioneer in the development of advanced X-ray and neutron scattering techniques, utilizing novel measurement geometries and strategies. 

The funded project aims to identify the ideal active layer morphology for organic optoelectronic devices, particularly OPVs, and improves device performance for practical applications. By employing state-of-the-art grazing-incidence neutron and X-ray scattering methods, the project will explore the intricate interplay between amorphous and crystalline structures, key to charge generation, recombination and collection. This initiative promises to drive significant advancements in understanding microstructure and developing morphology control strategies for organic semiconducting thin films, paving the way for the commercialization of high-performance organic optoelectronic devices.