As energy scientists worldwide persevere to improve the output of solar energy, efforts to improve efficiency of solar cell material is on the cards. With continual research, perovskite has surfaced to be a material of choice. It has emerged to be a leading candidate that can eventually replace silicon for solar panels.
Perovskite is replete with favorable physical properties. It has the potential for the manufacture of low-cost, low-temperature ultrathin, lightweight flexible cells. However, so far, the efficiency of perovskite cells to convert sunlight into electricity has lagged behind silicon and some other materials.
In a bid to match the efficiency of silicon typically used for solar cells, researchers have devised a new approach. Using this approach, researchers designed perovskite cells that has pushed the material to match or surpass the efficiency of typical silicon cell. This lays the groundwork for further improvements in the design of perovskite cells.
Elaborating on the new method, a specially treated conductive layer of tin dioxide bonded to perovskite, which provides an improved route for charge carriers in the cell. Meanwhile, by modifying the perovskite formula, researchers have attained to boost its overall efficiency for solar cell to 25.2 percent. This efficiency is a near record for such materials, which surpasses the efficiency of several existing solar panels. Nonetheless, perovskite still lags significantly over silicon in terms of longevity, however, a challenge being undertaken by teams around the world.
The findings of the method are described in a paper published in the journal Nature.
When it comes to structural details, perovskite are a broad class of materials that have a distinct molecular arrangement or lattice. The structural grid of perovskite resembles the naturally occurring perovskite mineral.
