2025 NEWS AND ANNOUCEMENTS

Congratulations once again to Ayagoz Ibrayeva, a graduating PhD student in Chemistry from ENU, along with senior B.Sc. Chemistry students Urker Abibulla and Zulfiya Imanbekova from NU, for their recent paper titled "Enhancing the stability and efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells with MIL-125 metal-organic framework as an electrolyte additive" published in the journal Scientific Reports.

They have made a significant breakthrough in dye-sensitized solar cells by incorporating the titanium-based metal-organic framework MIL-125 as an additive to the electrolyte. This innovative approach enhances both the stability and efficiency of DSSCs, potentially opening new avenues for sustainable energy solutions. The study focused on developing MIL-125 through the coordination of Ti4+ ions with benzene-1,4-dicarboxylic acid, resulting in a structure that effectively accommodates I−/I3− electrolytes and forms a MIL-125@electrolyte assembly. This assembly prevents electrolyte leakage while preserving liquid electrolyte properties, which is crucial for maintaining the efficiency of DSSCs. The inclusion of MIL-125 improves ionic conductivity, reduces charge transfer resistance, and stops leakage, resulting in a high-power conversion efficiency of 10.51%, with a peak value of 10.99%. It also maintains about 75% of its PCE after 1400 hours at approximately 23°C. Additionally, the study reports a record PCE of 27.6% under LED lighting at 6000 lx illumination, making the quasi-solid-state DSSC highly efficient for indoor applications. This research underscores the potential of MIL-125 as a significant additive in improving the performance of DSSCs, making them more stable and efficient for both outdoor and indoor applications. Further exploration of metal-organic frameworks could lead to more breakthroughs in photovoltaic technology. Congratulations to Ayagoz and the research team for this remarkable achievement! Your innovative work brings us closer to a sustainable and energy-efficient future. 

Read the full article here.

We are excited to officially welcome Kamshat, Igor, Javeria, and Muhammad to the fmc2 family! Each of them brings a unique set of skills and expertise that will greatly contribute to our ongoing research and innovations.

Kamshat and Igor will be joining us as research assistants. Kamshat will focus on the synthesis of polymeric materials for optoelectronic devices, while Igor, our in-house Organic Chemist, will bring his deep knowledge of organic chemistry to our team. 

Javeria joins us as a Ph.D. student in Chemistry, where she will work on the design and fabrication of microfluidic devices aimed at CO2 conversion—an exciting project with tremendous potential for sustainability. Muhammad, an M.Sc. student in Chemistry, will contribute to the development of multinary chalcogenides for H2O2  production, helping to drive forward our efforts in cutting-edge chemical research.

We are thrilled to have such a talented group of researchers on board and look forward to the exciting breakthroughs they will bring to fmc2!