ENERGOSIL · Silicon Films on Metals for Energy Applications

The main objective of this project is creation of porous silicon films with effective light absorbance on technically important metallic substrates such as steels, aluminium alloys and copper as well as metal-coated glass. This will give the possibility of combining structural materials with silicon for facing panels for buildings, which could be used to harness solar energy. The project aims to create highly efficient silicon films with nano-micro porous architectures, which will improve the efficiency of solar energy harvesting due to light trapping by internal reflection. The proposed concepts and methods are relevant to a wide range of applications where specifically high silicon surface to volume rates are of importance: solar cells, solar-driven generation of hydrogen, electrodes for lithium-ion batteries, precursors for production of silicon nano-particles and platforms for chemical and biological sensors.