Overview
David Mitzi received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Engineering Physics from Princeton University in 1985 and his Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Stanford University in 1990. Prior to joining the faculty at Duke in 2014, Dr. Mitzi spent 23 years at IBM’s T.J. Watson Research Center, where his focus was on the search for and application of new electronic materials, including organic-inorganic perovskites and inorganic materials for photovoltaic, LED, transistor and memory applications. For his final five years at IBM, he served as manager for the Photovoltaic Science and Technology Department, where he initiated and managed a multi-company program to develop a low-cost, high-throughput approach to deposit thin-film chalcogenide-based absorber layers for high-efficiency solar cells. Dr. Mitzi’s current research interests involve making emerging photovoltaic materials more effective, cost-efficient and competitive for the energy market. He holds a number of patents, and has authored or coauthored more than 300 papers and book chapters.
Current Appointments & Affiliations
Recent Publications
Interpretable machine learning on a curated dataset identifies chemical descriptors governing 2D perovskite solar cell performance
Journal Article Solar Energy · January 1, 2026 Two-dimensional (2D) hybrid perovskites are promising candidates for stable and efficient solar energy conversion, yet their complex chemistry and device architecture pose challenges for rational design. In this study, we compile a curated dataset—from dat ... Full text CiteLayer Number Dependence of Chirality and Spin Polarized Lifetime in Chiral 2D Halide Perovskites.
Journal Article Journal of the American Chemical Society · December 2025 Chiral metal halide perovskite semiconductors (CMHS) are fascinating semiconductors with unique chiroptical properties and spin-polarized charge transport. Achieving long spin lifetimes and high carrier mobility concurrently is essential to realize the tru ... Full text CiteP-Type Doping of Mixed Tin-Lead Halide Perovskites Using Electron Transfer to Mo(tfd-COCF3)<sub>3</sub> and F<sub>4</sub>TCNQ.
Journal Article ACS applied materials & interfaces · December 2025 Mixed tin-lead halide perovskites are emerging as promising candidates to address the toxicity issues of lead-based perovskites and to provide additional bandgap tunability for optoelectronic applications. Electron-transfer doping offers a prospective path ... Full text CiteRecent Grants
REU SITE: Collaborative Research: Nanoscale Detectives -- Elucidating the Structure and Dynamics of Hybrid Perovskite Systems
Inst. Training Prgm or CMEPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2025 - 2028Collaborative Research: DMREF: Data-Driven Prediction of Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Structures
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2023 - 2027Center for Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Semiconductors for Energy (CHOISE)
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Renewable Energy Laboratory · 2019 - 2026View All Grants