Prof. Michael Graetzel

Full Professor and Laboratory Director,

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL)

Biography:

Michael Graetzel is a Professor at EPFL where he develops photosystems for the generation of electricity and chemical fuels from sunlight. Michael graduated from the Technical University Berlin and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Notre Dame before joining the EPFL faculty as a professor of physical chemistry. There, he started his ground breaking investigations on colloidal semiconductors, which generated several new research fronts worldwide. Michael is well known for his discovery of mesoscopic dye sensitized solar cells, which in turn prompted the rise of perovskite solar cells, triggering a second revolution in photovoltaics. Michael’s pioneering work was recognized by a number of awards including the Rank Prize, BBVA FoundationFrontiers of Knowledge Awardin Basic Science, Millennium Technology Prize, Global Energy Prize, Marcel Benoist Prize, Balzan Prize, Harvey Prize, the King Faisal International Science Prize and the Calveras award in photovoltaics. He is an elected member of the Royal Society (UK) and the Chinese and German Academy Sciences as well as the Swiss Academy of Technical Sciences and the Royal Spanish Academy of Engineering and he is a Honorary member of the Société vaudoise de science naturelle. Michael received 14 honorary doctor degrees from European and Asian Universities. His over 1800 publications had a major and have received so far some 485’000 citations with an Hirsch factor of 302 rendering him the top most cited chemist of the world.

Abstract:

Photovoltaic cells using molecular dyes, semiconductor quantum dots or perovskite pigments as light harvesters have emerged as credible contenders to conventional devices. Dye sensitized solar cells (DSCs) use mesoscopic junction for photovoltaic electricity production and possess unique practical advantages have fostered industrial production and large scale commercial applications. They served as a launch pad for perovskite solar cells which are presently intensively investigated as a very promising future PV technology. The efficiency of solution processed laboratory cells having currently reached 26.1%. My lecture will cover our most recent findings in these revolutionary photovoltaic domains and well as their application for the generation of fuels from sunlight in photoelectrochemical devices mimicking natural photosynthesis.

Contact:

Ms. Linh Chu, School of Engineering

chuyenlinh@westlake.edu.cn