Improving the performance of organic solar cells for energy production...A research work by the Faculty of Engineering and University of Oxford

Within the framework of the state’s endeavor to promote research projects, support and encourage young researchers, and is keen to establish research projects, in addition to the state’s work to keep pace with the increasing demand for energy by adopting renewable, clean and environmentally friendly energy sources, meeting energy needs in sustainable ways and providing clean and affordable energy, a project has been submitted. (Start GCRF), which is specialized in Synchrotron Technologies for African Research and Technology, headed by Prof. Dr. Ghada Bassiouni, Professor of Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University, and Prof. Dr. Moritz Rida of Oxford University.

The master's student, Engineer/ Mohamed Barhouma, Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University, was selected and a research point was identified for studying solar energy by examining the micro-structure of solar cells with organic materials (OSC's) to monitor how the performance of cells is affected by their micro-structure under different environmental conditions.

The official launch of the project in South Africa was announced in 2019 to participate in the first project workshops “Start GCRF”.

The “Start GCRF” project is a British government initiative to increase development opportunities through projects with participating African researchers to gain experience and enable research using synchrotron techniques. Africa.

The research topics are based around important strategic development goals in Africa and the delivery of clean and affordable energy in line with several core principles of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Ain Shams University is the only university from Egypt participating in the project, and the project was accepted as a new research point and a distinguished scientific addition, and all financial support was provided to the principal researcher, Prof. Dr. Ghada Bassiouni.

Researcher Mohamed Barhouma traveled to Oxford University in the United Kingdom as part of the research project to conduct research and tests the required process and participate in international conferences proudly representing the Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University and Egypt. The researcher was registered for a master’s degree in the Department of Design and Production Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University and under the supervision of Prof. Ghada Bassiouni and Prof. Dr. Mohamed Hazem Abdel Latif, Professor in the Department of Design and Production Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University.

For her part, Prof. Ghada Bassiouni stressed the importance of international partnerships such as GCRF START for distinguished students in particular and for Egypt in general, in order to increase the openness of African universities, especially Egyptian universities, with the opening of communication channels free of obstacles.

She pointed out that the North-South, intercultural and interdisciplinary academic exchange between Oxford University and Ain Shams University is of particular benefit between these two prestigious universities.

Prof. Dr. Moritz Rida, University of Oxford, UK, said that it was great to have Mohamed Barhouma as part of our team at Oxford. Such exchanges are essential if we are to solve global challenges such as climate change.

Dr. Ghada Bassiouni pointed out that with the increasing demand for traditional energy resources in the world such as petroleum products and natural gas, we must find alternative energy resources in Egypt, for example, the Egyptian government has set targets for renewable energy of 20% of the electricity mix by 2022 and 42 % by 2035, so Egypt is investing a lot of money in mega solar farms such as the Benban project in Aswan and other solar projects, noting that if the efficiency of OSC is improved through the research that is being done, countries like Egypt may invest in more farms New solar energy, since OSC can be made semi-transparent and flexible, can be installed on glass in buildings in crowded cities like Cairo.

Mohamed Barhouma, a researcher in energy department at the Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University in Cairo, said that the research includes examining the micro-structure of organic solar cells (OSC's) to monitor how the performance of cells is affected by their micro-structure under different environmental conditions, adding that the goal is to improve the performance of solar cells. To produce energy by controlling its microstructure and thus optimizing its benefits for alternative energy supplies and pollution reduction measures.

Commenting on the importance of international partnerships such as GCRF START, Researcher Mohamed commented “Without START and without the support of Prof. Ghada Bassiouni, I would not have been able to travel to these meetings and conferences, and I have learned something new.

To talk about what “GCRF START” scholarship means to me, I would describe it as a great offer and opportunity to meet new scientists from all over the world, to help us build our science network to facilitate interaction with audiences through lecturing opportunities, financial support in conducting our experiments, access to equipment and travel to conferences and meetings.