Researchers from The University of Sydney, CSIRO Energy and Australia's Nuclear Science and Technology Organization have shown that perovskite solar cells damaged by proton radiation in low-Earth orbit can recover up to 100% of their original efficiency via annealing in thermal vacuum.

This is achieved through careful design of the hole transport material (HTM), which is used to transport photo-generated positive charges to the electrode in the cell.

Researchers from the University of Toledo, NREL and the University of Colorado Boulder have designed highly efficient, bifacial, single-junction perovskite solar cells based on a p-i-n (or inverted) architecture. In this work, the team showed that bifacial perovskite photovoltaics technology has the potential to outperform its monofacial counterparts.

The team used optical and electrical modeling to guide the optimization of the transparent conducting rear electrode and perovskite absorber layer using a p-i-n device architecture, achieving a high bifaciality of about 91%–93% and a high front-side illumination PCE of over 23%. Under concurrent bifacial measurement conditions, the equivalent, stabilized bifacial power output densities were 26.9, 28.5, and 30.1 mW/cm² under albedos of 0.2, 0.3, and 0.5, respectively. 

Researchers from Switzerland's Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Peking University have developed a perovskite solar cell with a 2D/3D heterojunction architecture.

The cell uses a 2D perovskite layer at the interface between the perovskite and the hole transport layer, which the researchers said can improve charge-carrier transport/extraction while suppressing ion migration. Cells with this architecture usually exhibit large exciton binding energies and are generally more stable than conventional 3D devices due to the protection provided by the organic ligands.

A new European project focused on perovskites has been launched, called “EFESO” (Exploiting Flexible pErovskites Solar technOlogies). It is a new fully funded
Horizon-Europe project, lead by Dr. Luigi Angelo Castriotta, Post Doctoral fellow of the University of Rome Tor Vergata.

The project aims to advance the upscaling of stable Flexible Perovskite Solar Modules (FPSMs) by optimizing fabrication processes on flexible substrates, reducing inactive areas on modules and working on lead (Pb) trapping intrinsically, using doping and interface engineering, and extrinsically by
encapsulation strategies.

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) have developed new LEDs which emit light simultaneously in two different wavelength ranges, for a simpler and more comprehensive way to monitor the freshness of fruit and vegetables.

 The team explains that modifying the LEDs with perovskite materials causes them to emit in both the near-infrared range and the visible range, a significant development in the contact-free monitoring of food. Angshuman Nag and his team at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) are proposing a perovskite application in LED technology that could simplify the quality control of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Researchers at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) and Shanghai Jiao Tong University have developed a design strategy that could reduce defects in FAPbI₃-based solar cells, improving their power efficiency. This strategy involves the application of an additive and a coating agent to the perovskite films integrated in the solar cells.

"Power conversion efficiencies of inverted perovskite solar cells (PSCs) based on methylammonium- and bromide-free formamidinium lead triiodide (FAPbI₃) perovskites still lag behind PSCs with a regular configuration," Rui Chen, Jinan Wang, and their colleagues wrote in their paper. "We improve the quality of both the bulk and surface of FA_0.98Cs_0.02PbI₃ perovskite films to reduce the efficiency gap."

Researchers from the University of Toronto, the University of Kentucky, EPFL, North Carolina State University and Northwestern University have designed a perovskite solar cell that can stand up to high temperatures for more than 1,500 hours — an important achievement on the to commercialization. 

“Perovskite solar cells offer new pathways to overcome some of the efficiency limitations of silicon-based technology, which is the industrial standard today,” said Ted Sargent, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the McCormick School of Engineering, professor of chemistry in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, and a former professor at the University of Toronto. “But due to its multi-decade head start, silicon still has an advantage in some areas, including stability. This study shows how we can close that gap.”

Researchers from China's Zhejiang University and South China University of Technology have developed transparent glassy composites based on lead-free anti-perovskites in a novel approach that could revolutionize X-ray imaging.

There is a high demand for high-resolution and ultrastable X-ray imaging methods in various fields, like material inspection, medical diagnostics, astronomical discovery, and scientific research. This demand has ignited a vigorous pursuit of innovative X-ray-responsive materials that must possess exceptional qualities such as high X-ray attenuation, efficient scintillation, rapid light decay, and robust durability. Among them, lead-halide-based perovskites have emerged as a compelling contender due to their remarkable luminescence efficiency, superior X-ray attenuation capabilities, and short fluorescence lifetimes. However, their application in the scintillation field is hindered by the toxicity of heavy metal lead (Pb), low photon yield caused by self-absorption effects, and poor X-ray irradiation stability.

Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS) in Japan have reported a simple and affordable perovskite-based way to store ammonia, an important chemical in a range of industries. 

Ammonia is widely used across industries ranging from textiles to pharmaceuticals and is an important component in the manufacture of fertilizers. For its current use, ammonia is stored in pressure-resistant containers after liquefying it at temperatures of -27 Fahrenheit (-33 degrees Celsius). Alternate methods of storing ammonia in porous compounds have been explored. The storage and retrieval process can be achieved at room temperature, but the storage capacity of these compounds is limited. The research team, led by Masuki Kawamoto at RIKEN CEMS, has found that perovskites can also serve as an excellent medium for the storage and retrieval of ammonia.

Researchers from Thailand's Mahidol University, Chiang Mai University, the Center of Excellence for Innovation in Chemistry (PERCH-CIC) and the National Metal and Materials Technology Center (MTEC) have developed triple-cation perovskite solar cells for low-light applications using a manufacturing process based on antisolvent deposition and vacuum thermal annealing (VTA).

“VTA leads to compact, dense, and hard morphology while suppressing trap states at surfaces and grain boundaries, which are key culprits for exciton losses,” the team stated, emphasizing the importance of the second step to produce a high quality perovskite layer. “As indoor light intensity is at least 300 times lower than that of sunlight, dense and homogeneous perovskite formation enticed by vacuum thermal annealing is valuable.”