
NREL Senior Scientist Kai Zhu applies a perovskite precursor solution to make a perovskite film. Credit: Dennis Schroeder
The majority of talks, posters, and papers proposed for the conference are on the subject of perovskite—so exciting is the field even though perovskite isn’t technically a dye cell
A new solar material that has the same crystal structure as a mineral first found in the Ural Mountains in 1839 is shooting up the efficiency charts faster than almost anything researchers have seen before—and it is generating optimism that a less expensive way of using sunlight to generate electricity may be in our planet’s future.
Researchers at the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are analyzing the new material, perovskite, using the lab’s unique testing capabilities and broad spectrum of expertise to uncover the secrets and potential of the semiconducting cube-like mineral.
NREL has already produced three scientific papers on perovskite (see sidebar), reporting on the science behind the very large length of the electron pairs (or charge diffusion length) in mesostructured perovskite solar cells. The two most-studied perovskite device structures are mesostructured (of medium complexity) and planar (two-dimensional). NREL Research Fellow David Ginley, who is a world-renowned materials scientist and winner of several R&D 100 Awards, said what makes perovskite device structures so remarkable is that when processed in a liquid solution, they have unusual abilities to diffuse photons a long distance through the cell. That makes it far less likely that the electrons will recombine with their hole pairs and be lost to useful electricity. And that indicates a potential for low-cost, high-efficiency devices.
NREL Senior Scientist Daniel Friedman notes that the light-absorbing perovskite cells have “a diffusion length 10 times longer than their absorption length,” not only an unusual phenomenon, but a very useful one, too.
Perovskite Is Flexible, Easier to Manipulate
The new cells are made from a relative of the perovskite mineral found in the Ural Mountains. Small but vital changes to the material allow it to absorb sunlight very efficiently. The material is also easy to fabricate using liquids that could be printed on substrates like ink in a printing press, or made from simple evaporation. These properties suggest an easy, affordable route to solar cells.
By playing with the elemental composition, it is also possible to tune the perovskite material to access different parts of the sun’s spectrum. That flexibility can be crucial, because it means that the material can be changed by deliberately introducing impurities, and in such a way that it can be used in multijunction solar cells that have ultra-high efficiencies. Multijunction solar cells are an NREL invention from 1991, but because of high material costs, standard multijunctions are used mostly in outer space applications such as satellites and the Mars rovers. Cheaper multijunction cells based on perovskites could radically change this.
In four years, perovskite’s conversion efficiency—the yield at which the photons that hit the material are turned into electrons that can be used to generate electricity—has grown from 3.8% in 2009 to just north of 16%, with unconfirmed reports of even higher efficiencies arriving regularly. That’s better than a four-fold increase. By contrast, efficiencies of single-crystal solar cells grew by less than 50% during their first five years of development, and most other types of solar cells showed similar modest improvements during their first few years.
NREL materials scientists are encouraged by the possibility of further optimizing the materials. For example, replacing lead with tin in the cells could improve the efficiency of multijunction cells made from perovskite. Besides switching to a more environmentally friendly material, the change from lead to tin would also allow the finished solar cell to better withstand high humidity.
Read more and search on “Perovskite” here for more info . . .
The Latest on: Perovskite
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The Latest on: Perovskite
- Perovskite solar goes commercial as yield gains align with market forceson February 2, 2023 at 5:40 am
Perovskite developers are bringing rapid efficiency improvements and tandem concepts into the commercial space, boosted by rising solar targets and new funding mechanisms.
- Thin, lightweight layer provides radiation barrier for perovskites in space, protection from elements on Earthon February 1, 2023 at 12:06 pm
Image by Ahmad Kirmani, NREL An ultrathin protective coating proves sufficient to protect a perovskite solar cell from the harmful effects of space and harden it against environmental factors on Earth ...
- Perovskite Solar Cells Market Size and Market Drivers Analysis 2023 | Competitive Landscape, Regional Status, Prospect and Forecast to 2028on January 31, 2023 at 11:22 pm
Feb 01, 2023 (The Expresswire) -- "Final Report will add the analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on this industry." Global “Perovskite Solar Cells Market” 2023-2028 gives in-depth insights which ...
- Researchers can 'see' crystals perform their dance moveson January 30, 2023 at 10:29 am
Researchers already knew the atoms in perovskites react favorably to light. Now they've seen precisely how the atoms move when the 2D materials are excited with light. Their study details the first ...
- Experiments visualize how 2D perovskite structures change when excitedon January 30, 2023 at 8:26 am
Rice University researchers already knew the atoms in perovskites react favorably to light. Now they can see precisely how those atoms move.
- Perovskite Solar Cells Market : New Business Strategies And Forecast By 2028 with Top Countries Dataon January 29, 2023 at 4:01 pm
Pages Report] Rising demand for Energy & Power Industry will drive the Perovskite Solar Cells segment growth over the next five years. Global Market Analysis for Perovskite S ...
- A New Pathway To Create Scalable Perovskite Solar Cellson January 29, 2023 at 9:00 am
The ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science demonstrated a new pathway to creating durable, efficient perovskite photovoltaics at industrial scale ...
- Stability of perovskite solar cells reaches next milestoneon January 27, 2023 at 7:05 am
Perovskite semiconductors promise highly efficient and low-cost solar cells. However, the semi-organic material is very sensitive to temperature differences, which can quickly lead to fatigue damage ...
- Coating provides radiation barrier for perovskites in space, protection from elements on Earthon January 27, 2023 at 6:35 am
An ultrathin protective coating proves sufficient to protect a perovskite solar cell from the harmful effects of space and harden it against environmental factors on Earth, according to newly ...
- Scientists figured out how to protect perovskite solar cells in spaceon January 26, 2023 at 4:46 pm
An ultrathin protective coating can protect a perovskite solar cell in space, according to new research from the NREL.
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