Overview
Personal Profile
Kai Zhu is a senior scientist in NLR's Chemistry and Nanoscience Center. He joined NLR in 2004 as a postdoctoral researcher, working with Arthur J. Frank on fundamental charge-carrier transport and recombination in photoelectrochemical cells, especially dye-sensitized solar cells. Prior to NLR, Zhu studied the electrical and optical properties and the device physics of solar cells based on amorphous-silicon thin films and dye-sensitized mesoporous TiO2 films. He was a postdoctoral researcher at Kansas State University, where he worked on III-nitride wide-bandgap semiconductors for high-power blue and ultraviolet light-emitting diodes.
Research Interests
Current research interests are both basic and applied research on perovskite solar cells, including perovskite material development, device fabrication and characterization, and basic understanding of charge-carrier dynamics in these cells.
Research interests have also included hydrogen production via photoelectrochemical cells and nanostructured electrodes for Li-ion batteries and supercapacitors.
Education/Academic Qualification
PhD, Physics, Syracuse University
Master, Physics, University of Science and Technology of China
Bachelor, Physics, University of Science and Technology of China
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Collaborations and Top Research Areas From the Past 5 Years
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Electrochemical Quantification of Phosphonic Acid Passivated Surface Sites of NiOx for Perovskite Solar Cells
Xie, C., Minh, D., Kret, R., Hoffman, J., Rillera, A., Wilks, R., Felix, R., Anderson, M., Frisch, J., Bar, M., Migliozzi, M., Louks, A., Schutt, K., Wheeler, L., Berry, J., Zhu, K., Kerner, R. & Luther, J., 2026, In: Energy and Environmental Science. 19, 10, p. 884-895 12 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Hole-Transport Layer for High Current Density and Stability of Sn-Pb Perovskites and All-Perovskite Tandem Solar Cells
Lee, S., Park, S. J., Park, M. H., Chen, L., Lee, J. R., Kim, D. H. & Zhu, K., 2026, In: ACS Energy Letters. 11, 2, p. 1080-1088 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Ionic Liquids Improve the Long-Term Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells
Xu, W., Shao, W., Tang, Y., Lin, C., Yang, H., Yang, Y.-T., Kim, J. H., Lee, G., Kumar, P., Pedersen, K. R., Coffey, A. H., Harvey, S., Graham, K. R., Zhu, C., Zhu, K. & Dou, L., 2026, In: Nature Energy. 11, p. 209-218 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
2 Scopus Citations -
Sequestering Compositions and Materials
Zhu, K. (Inventor) & Xu, T. (Inventor), 2026, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Patent No. 12,565,584 B2, 3 Mar 2026Research output: Patent
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Why Are Lead Iodide-Based Perovskite Precursor Inks Yellow? Article No. e02813
Kerner, R., White, K., Balasubramaniam, N., Ye, J., Addison, B., Bramante, R., Fykouras, K., Leppert, L., Toney, M., Larson, B., Wheeler, L., Rand, B., Berry, J. & Zhu, K., 2026, In: Advanced Energy Materials. 16, 1, 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
1 Scopus Citations
Awards and Honors
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NREL Distinguished Member of Research Staff
Zhu, K. (Recipient), Vidal, J. (Recipient), Tao, L. (Recipient), Tan, J. (Recipient), Smith, W. (Recipient), Schaidle, J. (Recipient), Reese, M. (Recipient), Parilla, P. (Recipient), Palmintier, B. (Recipient), Musial, W. (Recipient), Moriarty, P. (Recipient), Mann, M. (Recipient), Mai, T. (Recipient), Luther, J. (Recipient), Laurens, L. (Recipient), King, J. (Recipient), Johnston, S. (Recipient), Jackson, R. (Recipient), Hodge, B.-M. (Recipient), Heath, G. (Recipient), Hale, E. (Recipient), Habas, S. (Recipient), Gruchalla, K. (Recipient), Gevorgian, V. (Recipient), Geisz, J. (Recipient), Fleming, P. (Recipient), Farrell, J. (Recipient), Ding, F. (Recipient), Denholm, P. (Recipient), Ciesielski, P. (Recipient), Churchfield, M. (Recipient), Bomble, Y. (Recipient) & Blackburn, J. (Recipient), 2021
Prize: Honorary award