Efficiency - Page 31

Researchers design novel passivation approach to achieve perovskite solar cells with efficiency of over 23%

Researchers from The Australian National University, Flinders University, University of New South Wales and The University of Sydney have developed a perovskite solar cell with a novel passivation process based on the use of guanidinium (Gua) and octylammonium (Oa) spacer cations.

 A schematic showing the device structure and the surface incorporation of GuaBr, OABr, and their mixture. Image from RL Solar

The team claims that guanidinium salts can improve the performance of the perovskite film, as guanidinium ions are capable of penetrating into the bulk of the perovskite material and localizing at the grain boundaries (GBs).

Read the full story Posted: Jun 13,2022

Researchers find way to mitigate both performance losses and intrinsic degradation processes in perovskite solar cells

Researchers from the UK's University of Cambridge and Diamond Light Source, working with scientists from Japan's Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), have found that the defects which limit the efficiency of perovskites are also responsible for structural changes in the material that lead to degradation.

In their work, the researchers used a combination of techniques to mimic the process of aging under sunlight and observe changes in the materials at the nanoscale, helping them gain new insights into the materials. Their findings could accelerate the development of long-lasting, commercially available perovskite photovoltaics.

Read the full story Posted: May 25,2022

Researchers use nitrogen-doped carbon nanodots to improve the stability and power conversion efficiency of perovskite solar cells

Researchers from the University of the Basque, University of Trieste and the Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA) have managed to improve the stability and power conversion efficiency of a solar cell based on methylammonium (MA)-formamidinium (FA) lead halide perovskite, by using graphitic and amorphous nitrogen-doped carbon dots (g-N-CDs) as an additive.

In their study, the team set out to examine the influence of carbon dot additives on he efficiency and stability of PSCs. They found that the stability of the g-N-CDs-containing cells was improved. The long-term evaluation of the performances of the cells showed improvement of the power conversion efficiency of the g-N-CDs-containing cells over time, up to 109% of the initial efficiency after 40 days while the reference performance without CDs dropped to 86%.

Read the full story Posted: May 25,2022

Recent SETO report covers perovskite PV challenges and opportunities

In its recent report, the US Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) outlined the main technical challenges, commercialization risks and opportunities and the efforts being made to overcome the obstacles standing before the commercialization of perovskite solar cells.

It's important to note that while SETO mentions that most of the development in the solar field in the next few years will rely on silicon and CdTe, it sees potential in nascent technologies like halide perovskites.

Read the full story Posted: May 22,2022

Researchers use a 2D perovskite passivation layer as an electron blocking layer in 18.5%-efficient carbon-electrode perovskite solar cell

Researchers from Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, EPFL, Korea Basic Science Institute (KBSI) and Morocco's Abdelmalek Essaadi University have developed a perovskite solar cell with a carbon electrode that achieved 18.5% efficiency.

Electron blocking for 18.5%-efficient carbon-electrode perovskite solar cell imageSchematic diagram of the investigated low-temperature carbon electrode-based PSC with 3D/2D perovskite treated by OAI. Image from study

The solar cell also reportedly retained 82% of their efficiency after 500 hours of continuous illumination. The cell is produced via all low-temperature processes that could likely be scaled into low-cost, large-scale manufacturing ' making the approach attractive despite achieving lower efficiency than record-setting cells.

Read the full story Posted: May 02,2022

EPFL team develops tandem solar cells with 29.2% efficiency

EPFL scientists in Neuchâtel have reported a tandem solar cell that can deliver a certified efficiency of 29.2%. This achievement was made possible by combining a perovskite solar cell with a textured silicon solar cell.

One obstacle the team encountered was finding a way to evenly coat the silicon surface'which is intentionally rough, or textured'with a thin film of halide perovskites. A textured surface is used in order to minimize light reflection. This kind of system can already be found in all commercially available crystalline silicon cells.

Read the full story Posted: Apr 30,2022

Plasmonic Au nanorods enable semitransparent perovskite solar cells with over 13% efficiency

Researchers from the Singapore-HUJ Alliance for Research and Enterprise (SHARE) and Nanyang Technological University have developed semi-transparent perovskite solar cells with over 13% efficiency and 27% transparency using plasmonic Au nanorods.

Semitransparent Perovskite Solar Cells with > 13% Efficiency and 27% Transparency Using Plasmonic Au Nanorods image

Semitransparent hybrid perovskites can open the door to applications in smart windows and building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV). One route towards semitransparency is thinning the perovskite film, which has several benefits like cost efficiency and reduction of lead. However, this tends to result in reduced light absorbance. To compromise this loss, it is possible to incorporate plasmonic metal nanostructures, which can trap incident light and locally amplify the electromagnetic field around the resonance peaks.

Read the full story Posted: Apr 29,2022

Researchers use swelling-induced crack propagation method to make perovskite microcells for colored solar windows

Researchers from South Korea's Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology and Korea University have developed perovskite micro cells with a power conversion efficiency of 20.1% that can be used in colored solar windows.

Korean team makes perovskite microcells for solar windows imagethe colored solar window with the metal'insulator'metal (MIM) resonant structure. The inset shows a cross-sectional view of the perovskite microcell in the colored solar window. Image from Nature Communications

The devices were built using a lift-off-based patterning approach based on swelling-induced crack propagation.

Read the full story Posted: Apr 26,2022

Perovskite-organic tandem solar cells with indium oxide interconnects display impressive efficiency

A group of scientists from the University of Wuppertal, the University of Tübingen, the University of Potsdam, HZB, Max Planck Institute and the University of Cologne in Germany recently developed a perovskite-organic tandem solar cell with optimized charge extraction, a high open-circuit voltage and a thickness of just 1 µm.

The tandem configuration includes a narrow-bandgap organic subcell with a p-i-n-type architecture based on the polymer PM6 and molybdenum oxide (MoOx) as the hole extraction layer (HEL). The cell has a power conversion efficiency of 17.5%, an open-circuit voltage of 0.87 V, a short-circuit current of 26.7 mA cm'2, and a fill factor of 75%. The wide-bandgap perovskite subcell was built with a perovskite known as FA0.8Cs0.2Pb(I0.5Br0.5)3, with an efficiency of 16.8%, an open-circuit voltage of 1.34 V, a short-circuit current of 15.6 mA cm'2, and a fill factor of 81%.

Read the full story Posted: Apr 23,2022

Researchers design functionalized interfaces for highly efficient inverted perovskite solar cells

A research team, co-led by scientists from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) and Imperial College London, has developed highly efficient and stable perovskite solar cells.

Among the different types of perovskite solar cells, those with an inverted design configuration have exhibited exceptional stability, making them good candidates to reach the lifetime of commercial silicon solar cells. However, perovskite materials include chemically reactive components, which can easily volatilize and degrade under high temperature and humidity, shortening the solar cells' operational lifetime. Also, there is still a need for strategy to enhance the efficiency of inverted perovskite solar cells up to 25% to rival that of silicon solar cells, while maintaining their stability.

Read the full story Posted: Apr 22,2022