Korean researchers propose new material for stable, lead free perovskite

A team of scientists from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has proposed a gold-based halide perovskite as a material for high efficiency solar cells, which it says could be both more stable and more environmentally friendly to produce than many existing perovskites which scientists are investigating to boost solar efficiency.

KAIST's main campus in Daejeon, South Korea.

Image: Yoo Chung

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Scientists from Korea’s KAIST are proposing a new material, Cesium-gold-iodide, or Cs2Au2I6, as an active material in high efficiency thin film solar cells.

The team’s calculations, published in the paper ‘Mixed valence perovskite Cs2Au2I6: A potential material for thin film Pb-free photovoltaic cells with ultrahigh efficiency’ show that this material has a close to ideal band-gap for solar generation, and simulations have shown that a very thin polycrystalline layer would be sufficient to achieve high conversion efficiency.

Theoretical investigations also suggest that, as an entirely inorganic material, Cs2Au2I6 is also more stable than many other perovskites, and also it is lead free, could be said to be more environmentally friendly. The researchers used a multiscale, multiphysics simulation framework, and electromagnetic simulations.

Now, the team plans to move its investigation in two directions simultaneously – applying this material into real PV cells, and theoretical analysis focused on finding other optimal materials for highly efficient solar cells.

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