Dr Devendra Tiwari

Associate Professor

School: Engineering, Physics and Mathematics

Short Bio

I have joined Northumbria University in 2020 as a Vice-Chancellor's Senior Fellow in the Department of Mathematics, Physics and Electrical Engineering. My current research interest lies in understanding the emergence of defect-tolerance in semiconductors and using defect-tolerant semiconductors for PV and solar fuel applications. This involves materials discovery and building structural-activity relationship through a combination of atomistic computational modelling, materials processing and defect-characterization of new inorganic PV semiconductors and devices. I have developed novel methodologies to process complete solar cells using non-vacuum techniques, examining a variety of unconventional absorbers including Cu₂SnS₃, Cu₂ZnSn(S,Se)₄, BiFeO₃, BiI₃, BiSI, BiPS₄. Recently we have been investigating these methodologies to develop PV structures for low-cost system integration (buildings, automotive, etc.) as well.

My postdoctoral studies were undertaken at the University of Bristol in Professor David Fermin's lab as a part of an EPSRC project targeting new PV technologies based on solution-processable earth-abundant materials. Before this, I studied chemistry from Sardar Patel University, Gujarat, India (MSc 2009) and completed my PhD in 2014 investigating solution-processed Cu₂SnS₃ thin-films for solar cells at Dr K. C. Patel research and development centre (CHARUSAT, India) through a UGC-department of atomic energy (DAE) fellowship. My thesis work focused on low-temperature charge-transport measurements and photoemission experiments on semiconductor thin-films and PV devices.

My research publications can be found here:

https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=4KEwr3oAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao

2 Fully-funded PhD positions

1. First one is focusses on new defect-tolerant materials for solar-energy conversion.

"Bismuth Chalcohalides for Solar Water-Splitting"

https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/bismuth-chalcohalides-for-solar-water-splitting-renu21-ee-mpee-tiwari/?p127368.

2. Second one, is on developing sustainable semi-transparent PV technology for low-cost system integration.

“Defect engineering of solution-processed semi-transparent Kesterite solar cells”

https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/defect-engineering-of-solution-processed-semi-transparent-kesterite-solar-cells-advert-reference-rdf21-ee-mpee-tiwaridevendra/?p127501

The application deadline is in the last week of January 2021.

Both the studentships are available to Home and International (including EU) students, and includes a full stipend, paid for three years at UKRI rates (for 2020/21, this is £15,285 pa) and full tuition fees. The starting date will be 1st October 2021.

If you are interested in any of these positions, please get in touch through my email (devendra.tiwari@northumbria.ac.uk) or the link provided in FindAPhD advert.

Email Devendra

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Correlating Molecular Precursor Interactions with Device Performance in Solution-Processed Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 Thin-Film Solar Cells, Agbenyeke, R., Sheppard, A., Keynon, J., Benhaddou, N., Fleck, N., Corsetti, V., Alkhalifah, M., Tiwari, D., Bowers, J., Fermin, D. 10 Jul 2024, In: ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
Utilizing Solvent Repulsion between Dimethylformamide and Isopropanol to Manipulate Sn Distribution for Bifacial Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 Solar Cells, Sheppard, A., Agbenyeke, R., Laverock, J., King, L., Kenyon, J., Benhaddou, N., Fleck, N., Harniman, R., Sarua, A., Tiwari, D., Bowers, J., Fox, N., Fermin, D. 23 Dec 2024, In: ACS Applied Energy Materials
High temperature equilibrium of 3D and 2D chalcogenide perovskites, Longo, G., Whalley, L., Holland, A., Tiwari, D., Durose, K., Hutter, O., Kayastha, P. 1 May 2023, In: Solar RRL
Correlating Orbital Composition and Activity of LaMn _xNi _{1- x}O ₃Nanostructures toward Oxygen Electrocatalysis, Alkhalifah, M., Howchen, B., Staddon, J., Celorrio, V., Tiwari, D., Fermin, D. 16 Mar 2022, In: Journal of the American Chemical Society
Decoupling the impact of bulk and surface point defects on the photoelectrochemical properties of LaFeO₃ thin films, Sun, X., Tiwari, D., Li, M., Fermin, D. 7 Oct 2022, In: Chemical Science
Ex-situ Ge-doping of CZTS Nanocrystals and CZTSSe Solar Absorber Films, Naylor, M., Tiwari, D., Sheppard, A., Laverock, J., Campbell, S., Ford, B., Xu, X., Jones, M., Qu, Y., Maiello, P., Barrioz, V., Beattie, N., Fox, N., Fermin, D., Zoppi, G. 1 Oct 2022, In: Faraday Discussions
Mapping the Energetics of Defect States in Cu 2ZnSnS 4 films and the Impact of Sb Doping., Tiwari, D., Yakushev, M., Koehler, T., Cattelan, M., Fox, N., Martin, R., Klenk, R., Femin, D. 25 Apr 2022, In: ACS Applied Energy Materials
The sustainable materials roadmap, Titirici, M., Baird, S., Sparks, T., Yang, S., Brandt-Talbot, A., Hosseinaei, O., Harper, D., Parker, R., Vignolini, S., Berglund, L., Li, Y., Gao, H., Mao, L., Yu, S., Díez, N., Ferrero, G., Sevilla, M., Szilágyi, P., Stubbs, C., Worch, J., Huang, Y., Luscombe, C., Lee, K., Luo, H., Platts, M., Tiwari, D., Kovalevskiy, D., Fermin, D., Au, H., Alptekin, H., Crespo-Ribadeneyra, M., Ting, V., Fellinger, T., Barrio, J., Westhead, O., Roy, C., Stephens, I., Nicolae, S., Sarma, S., Oates, R., Wang, C., Li, Z., Loh, X., Myers, R., Heeren, N., Grégoire, A., Périssé, C., Zhao, X., Vodovotz, Y., Earley, B., Finnveden, G., Björklund, A., Harper, G., Walton, A., Anderson, P. 1 Jul 2022, In: JPhys Materials
Chalcogenide perovskites for photovoltaics: current status and prospects, Tiwari, D., Hutter, O., Longo, G. 1 Jul 2021, In: Journal of Physics: Energy
Electrocatalytic Site Activity Enhancement via Orbital Overlap in A(2)MnRuO(7) (A = Dy3+, Ho3+, and Er3+) Pyrochlore Nanostructures, Celorrio, V., Tiwari, D., Calvillo, L., Leach, A., Huang, H., Granozzi, G., Alonso, J., Aguadero, A., Pinacca, R., Russell, A., Fermin, D. 25 Jan 2021, In: ACS Applied Energy Materials

PGR Supervision

Lauren Ross Operando Photoelectrochemical-X-Ray-Spectroscopies-Led Rational Discovery of New Pyrochlore Oxides for Water Electrolysis Start Date: 01/10/2024
Jake Forsyth-Hughes Understanding the role of sulphur in the conversion of bismuth films to Bi2S3 and its effects on film properties and photoactivity. Start Date: 01/10/2022
Jake Forsyth-Hughes Understanding the role of sulphur in the conversion of bismuth films to Bi2S3 and its effects on film properties and photoactivity. Start Date: 01/10/2022 End Date: 17/10/2025
Lauren Ross Operando Photoelectrochemical-X-Ray-Spectroscopies-Led Rational Discovery of New Pyrochlore Oxides for Water Electrolysis Start Date: 01/10/2024 End Date: 17/10/2025