Dresden 2026 – scientific programme

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MM: Fachverband Metall- und Materialphysik

MM 19: Poster Session

MM 19.14: Poster

Tuesday, March 10, 2026, 18:00–20:00, P5

Shining a Light on Stored Charges: Linking Excitation Spectra to Polaron Dynamics in Solar Battery Materials — •Leon Müller, Matthias Kick, and Karsten Reuter — Fritz-Haber-Institut der MPG, Berlin

Solar battery materials integrate light harvesting and charge storage within a single component, offering a pathway toward simplified systems that could serve as key elements in future nanoscale energy devices. First experimental findings suggest that charge storage involves the formation of long-lived polaronic states. However, the underlying processes of exciton generation, subsequent charge separation and trapping that enable stable charge storage remain elusive.

Experimentally, charging is accompanied by a reversible color change from white or yellow to blue, indicating a potentially more dynamic process in which charges can jump between multiple trapping sites. This photochromism has been observed in many of the solar battery materials discovered so far, hinting at a mechanism that may be universal to this class of systems.

To explore the processes of charge generation and trapping, we study LiNbWO₆ using time-dependent density-functional theory to model the optical response of polaronic states. By connecting the excitation spectra to the underlying dynamics of the stored charges, we aim to clarify the mechanisms that govern charge localization and stability, thereby establishing a microscopic framework for charge storage in solar battery materials.

Keywords: Solar Battery Materials; TDDFT; Polarons