Joe Briscoe is a Professor of Energy Materials and Devices at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). His research is focussed on investigating a range of new materials, structures and material combinations for use in nanostructured, low-cost photovoltaics (PVs), photocatalysis/photoelectrocatalysis (PEC) and piezoelectric energy harvesting, with a particular focus on the use of polar (ferroelectric, piezoelectric) materials within these devices. In 2020 Prof Briscoe was awarded a prestigious ERC Consolidator Grant to develop ferroelectric-photovoltaic/photocatalyst nanocomposites as a new route to high efficiency solar energy devices. In addition, in 2022 he spun out the company 'AeroSolar' to commercialise a novel post-processing approach to enhance the efficiency and stability of halide perovskite photovoltaics.

Prior to gaining an academic position at QMUL in 2017 he worked as a postdoc on the development of a new type of nanostructured piezoelectric energy harvesting device using ZnO nanorods, and the investigation of ferroelectric materials as novel photocatalysts for the production of fuels and the degradation of pollutants. He also instigated and worked on a number of projects developing emerging photovoltaic technologies, such as hybrid organic-inorganic lead halide perovskites, organic photovoltaics (OPVs) and dye-sensitised solar cells (DSSC).

Prof Briscoe completed an MSci at the University of Durham in Natural Sciences, which included researching the doping of ceramic zinc oxide. Following this he undertook a PhD at Cranfield University in nanostructured photovoltaic devices.

Abstract - Ferroelectric nanocomposites for enhanced solar energy conversion

Huge advances have been made in recent years in solar energy conversion from both established technologies such as silicon to emerging photovoltaics such as halide perovskites, and direct solar-to-fuel conversion such as photoelectrochemical water splitting and CO2 reduction. Many of these technologies are either approaching their fundamental efficiency limits, or require new approaches to accelerate efficiency improvements. The Schockley Queisser limit defines the maximum theoretical efficiency of a junction-based photovoltaic (or photochemical) device. Ferroelectric and other non-centrosymmetric materials are able to produce a 'bulk' photovoltaic effect (BPVE) that does not require a semiconductor junction, therefore in principle are not subject to the Schockley Queisser limit. However, in reality they demonstrate low power conversion efficiencies as ferroelectrics are generally  poor light absorbers.

I will present an overview of our work to overcome these limitations by drawing on the ability of the BPVE to couple to other materials, such as semiconductor absorbers, at the nanoscale. By producing nanocomposite films combining ferroelectrics with semiconductor light absorbers we show that the photocurrent in the semiconductor can be tuned via coupling to the ferroelectric polarisation. I will show proof of concept of this principle for solar fuel applications using semiconductor photocatalysts integrated with nanoporous ferroelectrics, and for ferroelectric-photovoltaics using epitaxial nanocomposite films produced using pulsed laser deposition.