Novel Solar Cells Using Perovskite Could Make Solar Energy Use & Storage More Efficient

Researchers from the City University of Hong Kong and Imperial College, London have discovered a new way to make ultra-efficient solar cells on a commercial scale using perovskite.

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Reported first by The Independent, the material has a reputation for being way more stable compared to existing solar-cell materials, however, they have also been quite unstable for commercial use. The novel tech however allows them to not just be more efficient and stable but also cost less.

Moreover, they are more lightweight as well as flexible which could allow for a more diverse application.

Researchers were able to reach these properties of perovskites by making use of a metal-containing material dubbed ferrocenes that they added as an interface between the solar cells¡¯ light-absorbing layer and the electron transporting ones.

Researchers using this technique were the first ones to create a solar cell that performs at the same level as current silicon cells, while also being extremely stable. In fact, testing revealed that it could run under continuous illumination for over 1,500 hours whilst retaining 98 percent of its initial efficiency.

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Dr Zhu Zonglong, an assistant professor in CityU¡¯s Department of Chemistry explained, ¡°The most important part of this work is that we successfully fabricated highly efficient perovskite solar cells while providing promising stability. The reliable results mean that the commercialisation of perovskites is on its way. We aim to scale up the production of perovskite solar cells using this novel molecule and facile method, contributing to the global ¡®zero-carbon¡¯ sustainability goal.¡±

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