| Apr 21, 2022 |
|
(Nanowerk News) Perovskites are hybrid materials made from metal halides and organic compounds. They have attracted a lot of interest in the field of solar energy because of their light-harvesting capacities combined with a low cost of manufacturing, making them prime candidates for overtake the market from their silicon counterparts.
|
|
Perovskites also show great potential in a range of applications that include LED lights, lasers, and photodetectors.
|
|
One of the obstacles on the way to commercializing perovskite solar cells is that scaling them up results to losses in power-conversion efficiency and operational stability. This is due to natural defects in the perovskite molecular structure, which interferes with the flow of electrons. This results in “resistive loss” – a power loss due to resistance.
|
|
In addition, the processes required to achieve high-quality large-area perovskite films are quite complex.
|
|
In a new study published in Nature Nanotechnology (“Single-crystalline TiO2 nanoparticles for stable and efficient perovskite modules”), scientists led by Mohammad Nazeeruddin at EPFL have found a way to overcome the scaling up problems of perovskites.
|
|
The scientists have developed an easy solvothermal method that can produce single-crystalline titanium dioxide rhombohedral nanoparticles that can be used to build a perovskite film.
|
|
The new structure features a lower amount of “lattice” mismatches, referring to the “ladder-like” structure of the titanium dioxide nanoparticles. This translates into a lower number of defects, which ensures better electron flow throughout with lower power loss.
|
|
Testing the new nanoparticle-based, small-size solar cells, the scientists achieved a power-conversion efficiency of 24.05% and a fill factor (a measure of actual obtainable power) of 84.7%. The cells also maintain about 90% of their initial performance after continuous operation for 1400 hours.
|
|
The scientists also fabricated large-area cells, which certified an efficiency of 22.72% with an active area of nearly 24 cm2. This “represents the highest efficiency modules with the lowest loss in efficiency when scaling up,” conclude the authors.
|
