{"590342":{"#nid":"590342","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Research Abroad Leads to Challenge, Triumph, and Publication for Giovanni DeLuca","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhat happens when you\u0026rsquo;re a Ph. D. candidate who travels abroad on a \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nsf.gov\/\u0022\u003ENational Science Foundation\u003C\/a\u003E grant for eight weeks of research, only to find that the lab you\u0026rsquo;re assigned to isn\u0026rsquo;t what you expected?\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIf you\u0026rsquo;re \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/reichmanis.chbe.gatech.edu\/people\/gio.html\u0022\u003EGiovanni DeLuca\u003C\/a\u003E, of the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.chemistry.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Chemistry and Biochemistry\u003C\/a\u003E, you adopt a seven-days-a-week work schedule, join other research groups for their projects, get a paper published, and initiate previously impossible experiments back home. \u0026ldquo;From day one, I knew I had to put in maximum effort if I was going to accomplish anything,\u0026rdquo; says DeLuca of his 2016 summer research at \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/english.dhu.edu.cn\/\u0022\u003EDonghua University\u003C\/a\u003E in Shanghai, China.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDeLuca develops photovoltaic (PV) cells \u0026ndash; devices that convert sunlight into electricity. The PV cells he works with use thin layers of a material called perovskite. Perovskite is considerably cheaper than silicon and other materials typically used in PV cells, making it a promising option for widespread use of PV cells.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EPerovskite, however, requires specific environmental conditions to perform optimally. Summers in Shanghai are hot and humid, hence DeLuca\u0026rsquo;s dilemma. \u0026ldquo;I\u0026#39;m used to working in air-conditioned, moisture-controlled labs,\u0026rdquo; DeLuca says. The Shanghai labs were not.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;It caught me completely off guard,\u0026rdquo; DeLuca says. \u0026ldquo;The perovskite active layer\u0026nbsp;is extremely sensitive to temperature and moisture, making exposure to the ambient summer conditions a serious problem.\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETo overcome this unexpected obstacle, DeLuca simply turned summer lemons into perovskite lemonade.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;I was able to work with another Ph. D. candidate from China to develop a technique to fine-tune the morphology of the perovskite active layer. This allowed us to\u0026nbsp;fabricate devices in ambient conditions,\u0026rdquo; DeLuca explains. Their success led to a perovskite PV device that achieved 16% efficiency under ambient conditions. Similar devices prepared under normal lab conditions typically achieve efficiencies in the single digits. According to DeLuca, the world record for perovskite PV device efficiency is 22%.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe group DeLuca worked with wrote and submitted two papers for publication. Such was the wealth of new information gained from their hard work. One paper \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0927024817301393\u0022\u003Ehas already been published\u003C\/a\u003E in the journal \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.journals.elsevier.com\/solar-energy-materials-and-solar-cells\u0022\u003ESolar Energy Materials and Solar Cells\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to improving perovskite layers, DeLuca was also able to fabricate a supercapacitor, which can store the energy collected by perovskite PV solar cells. \u0026ldquo;I was unfamiliar with fabrication of supercapacitors, so learning this skill was an especially useful experience,\u0026rdquo; DeLuca says. He hopes to return to China for up to a year and work on combining both PV solar cells and supercapacitors into a single collection-storage device.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDeLuca\u0026rsquo;s work in China indicated that it was unnecessary to analyze the performance of perovskite devices under strict climate controls. Upon returning to Georgia Tech, DeLuca helped open other research possibilities with perovskite.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDeLuca began pursuing a Ph.D. in chemistry after graduating with degrees in physics and chemistry from the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/uwf.edu\/\u0022\u003EUniversity of West Florida\u003C\/a\u003E and a research stint at \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.pall.com\/\u0022\u003EPall Corporation\u003C\/a\u003E, a filtration and separation company. He is co-advised by \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/chbe.gatech.edu\/faculty\/reichmanis\u0022\u003EElsa Reichmanis\u003C\/a\u003E, professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/chbe.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E, and \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.chemistry.gatech.edu\/faculty\/Wilkinson\/\u0022\u003EAngus Wilkinson\u003C\/a\u003E, professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.chemistry.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Chemistry and Biochemistry\u003C\/a\u003E. DeLuca recently developed research collaborations between the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ece.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Electrical and Computer Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E and scientists at Monash University in Melbourne, in Australia, on \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S2211285515000877\u0022\u003Enovel solar cell technology\u003C\/a\u003E. DeLuca will travel there during the summer of 2017 to work on research goals involving the development of solar cells with higher efficiency.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nsf.gov\/funding\/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5284\u0022\u003ENational Science Foundation EAPSI (East Asia Pacific Summer Institute)\u003C\/a\u003E grant that funded Deluca\u0026rsquo;s trip to China will also fund his trip to Australia. It is awarded annually to U.S. graduate students pursuing a degree in science, engineering, or education. It supports and fosters research collaboration between universities in the U.S. and those in East Asia and throughout the Pacific. DeLuca appreciates the opportunity to travel abroad and work with other groups. \u0026ldquo;It provides me with an opportunity to gain an international perspective on this topic,\u0026rdquo; he says.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;I learned quite a bit from my time in China, but I\u0026#39;d have to say preparedness was a lesson I was learning over and over again,\u0026rdquo; DeLuca remarks. \u0026ldquo;I think I will be obsessive-compulsive about expecting the unexpected when travelling from now on.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMatt Barr\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nScience Communications Intern\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCollege of Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"On his first research trip abroad, Ph.D. candidate Giovanni DeLuca learned to expect the unexpected"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EOn his first research trip abroad, Ph.D. candidate Giovanni DeLuca learned to expect the unexpected\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"On his first research trip abroad, Ph.D. candidate Giovanni DeLuca learned to expect the unexpected"}],"uid":"32896","created_gmt":"2017-04-12 21:30:38","changed_gmt":"2021-06-15 16:56:13","author":"Matt Barr","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2017-04-12T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2017-04-12T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"590341":{"id":"590341","type":"image","title":"DeLuca (right) with his host and mentor at Donghua University, Hongzhi Wang (Photo courtesy of Giovanni DeLuca)","body":null,"created":"1492032445","gmt_created":"2017-04-12 21:27:25","changed":"1492032445","gmt_changed":"2017-04-12 21:27:25","alt":"","file":{"fid":"224913","name":"DeLuca_Adv.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/DeLuca_Adv.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/DeLuca_Adv.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":80337,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/DeLuca_Adv.jpg?itok=Qv96K_Iv"}},"590339":{"id":"590339","type":"image","title":"The first supercapacitor DeLuca fabricated at Donghua University (Photo courtesy of Giovanni DeLuca)","body":null,"created":"1492032229","gmt_created":"2017-04-12 21:23:49","changed":"1492032229","gmt_changed":"2017-04-12 21:23:49","alt":"","file":{"fid":"224911","name":"DeLuca_SuCa.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/DeLuca_SuCa.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/DeLuca_SuCa.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":99685,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/DeLuca_SuCa.jpg?itok=XnBKgcv7"}},"590340":{"id":"590340","type":"image","title":"SEM images of films used in the development of perovskite photovoltaic cells (Photo courtesy of Giovanni DeLuca)","body":null,"created":"1492032332","gmt_created":"2017-04-12 21:25:32","changed":"1492032332","gmt_changed":"2017-04-12 21:25:32","alt":"","file":{"fid":"224912","name":"DeLuca_SEM.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/DeLuca_SEM.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/DeLuca_SEM.png","mime":"image\/png","size":813827,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/DeLuca_SEM.png?itok=WJJq9NNB"}}},"media_ids":["590341","590339","590340"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"85951","name":"School of Chemistry and Biochemistry"}],"categories":[{"id":"144","name":"Energy"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1808","name":"graduate students"},{"id":"174044","name":"Giovanni DeLuca"},{"id":"953","name":"photovoltaics"},{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"166928","name":"School of Chemistry and Biochemistry"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA. Maureen Rouhi\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDirector of Communications\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ECollege of Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maureen.rouhi@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}