Morphology-Driven Exciton Diffusion Enhances the Charge Generation in Bilayer Organic Solar Cells
DOI: 10.1002/smtd.70935
Dr. Christopher Petoukhoff
Subgroup Leader, Spectroscopy of Energy Materials
Organic optoelectronics · Solar energy conversion · Ultrafast spectroscopy · 2D materials · Nanophotonics
Christopher Petoukhoff is a Subgroup Leader in the SPECTRE group at LMU Munich. His research explores how molecular interfaces and nanoscale structure govern photophysical processes in organic, perovskite, and 2D semiconductors and their devices. He combines ultrafast and steady-state optical spectroscopy with materials characterization and optoelectronic modelling to predict, understand, and reduce losses in solar energy conversion.
He received his PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from Rutgers University in 2017. Before joining LMU in 2026, he worked at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) as a Global Postdoctoral Fellow (2022-2026), and before that he was a postdoctoral researcher at Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST, 2017-2021). Alongside his research on interfacial photophysics and nanophotonics, he develops spectroscopy methods and training programmes and mentors early-career researchers.
- Office:
- E.2.009
Academic Background
- Subgroup Leader, Spectroscopy of Energy Materials, LMU Munich, Germany, since May 2026
- KAUST Global Postdoctoral Fellow, Ultrafast Dynamics and KAUST Photovoltaics Groups, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia, 2022–2026
- Postdoctoral Scholar, Femtosecond Spectroscopy Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), Japan, 2017–2021
- Visiting Researcher, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, India, Jan.–Jun. 2019
- PhD in Materials Science and Engineering, Supervisor: Prof. Deirdre M. O’Carroll, Rutgers University, USA, 2017
- B.S. in Chemistry and B.S. in Physics, summa cum laude, University of the Sciences, Philadelphia, USA, 2011
Awards and Honors
- Best Poster Award, MRS Spring Meeting, Symposium EL01, 2025
- Best Poster Award, Saudi–Japan Conference on Future Materials for the Energy Revolution, KAUST, 2024
- KAUST Global Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2022–2025
- Sigma Pi Sigma Physics Honor Society, University of the Sciences, 2020
- NSF East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes (EAPSI)–JSPS Summer Fellowship, 2015
- NSF Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT), Nanotechnology for Clean Energy, Rutgers University, 2012–2015
- Best Poster Award, IGERT Nanotechnology for Clean Energy Symposium, Rutgers University, 2012
- Corning, Inc. Fellowship, 2011–2012
- Norman F. Ramsey Commencement Research Award, University of the Sciences, 2011
- Alumni Association Award for Physics, University of the Sciences, 2011
- Robert M. and May P. Jones Scholarship for Mathematics, University of the Sciences, 2010
- Alpha Chi Honor Society, University of the Sciences, 2009
- Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society, University of the Sciences, 2008
Selected Publications
Charge recombination in polythiophene: non-fullerene acceptor solar cells with IE offsets exceeding 1 eV
DOI: 10.1039/D5EE05059F
On the Use of Reflection Polarized Optical Microscopy for Rapid Comparison of Crystallinity and Phase Segregation of P3HT:PCBM Thin Films
Impact of the valence band energy alignment at the hole-collecting interface on the photostability of wide band-gap perovskite solar cells
Achieving 19.4% organic solar cell via an in situ formation of p-i-n structure with built-in interpenetrating network
Strong Plasmon–Exciton Coupling in Ag Nanoparticle–Conjugated Polymer Core-Shell Hybrid Nanostructures
Performance-limiting nanoscale trap clusters at grain junctions in halide perovskites
Charge transfer dynamics in conjugated polymer/MoS₂ organic/2D heterojunctions
DOI: 10.1039/C9ME00019D
Ultrafast Charge Transfer and Enhanced Absorption in MoS₂–Organic van der Waals Heterojunctions Using Plasmonic Metasurfaces
Absorption-induced scattering and surface plasmon out-coupling from absorber-coated plasmonic metasurfaces
DOI: 10.1038/ncomms8899
