Stability of perovskites: Emmy Noether funding for LMU researcher

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Stability of perovskites: Emmy Noether funding for LMU researcher

3 Mar 2026

Esma Ugur has been awarded funding through the German Research Foundation’s Emmy Noether Programme to advance the understanding of stability-limiting mechanisms in perovskite semiconductors for solar technology and optoelectronics.

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Esma Ugur aims to establish design principles for more stable and reliable perovskite technologies. | © privat

Perovskites are among the most promising materials for the next generation solar cells and other optoelectronic devices. But how can they be made long-term operational stable enough to become suitable for widespread application? This is the question being addressed by Dr. Esma Ugur, who has been granted funding by the German Research Foundation (DFG) through the Emmy Noether Programme. The award amounts to around 2.2 million euros for a period of six years.

With this funding, Dr. Esma Ugur will establish an independent research group at the Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy at LMU Munich. In her project, “Deciphering Multiscale Heterogeneities in Perovskites for the Design of Durable and High-Performance Optoelectronics”, she tackles one of the key scientific challenges limiting the widespread commercial use of perovskites: their long-term stability.

Promising semiconductor materials

Perovskites are characterized by excellent light absorption and efficient charge transport. Yet, the long-term performance of devices that use perovskites can be compromised by subtle variations in structure and composition. These material heterogeneities emerge during fabrication and evolve during operation under the influence of external stress factors.

The project HOPE builds on Ugur’s previous research on perovskite-based solar cells and advanced optical characterization methods. Esma Ugur and her team will employ advanced optical and structural analysis methods to uncover how such heterogeneities develop across different length scales, how they interact with one another, and how they influence long-term device performance. By bridging fundamental materials science with practical device insights, she aims to establish design principles for more stable and reliable perovskite technologies. “Our goal is to enable durable, high-performance perovskite materials that can contribute to sustainable energy technologies while strengthening LMU’s position in the field of innovative energy and optoelectronic materials,” says Ugur.

The Emmy Noether Programme gives exceptionally qualified early career researchers the chance to qualify for the post of professor at a university by leading a research group.