Perovskite

Chinese researchers have developed a new solar cell with a planar n-i-p structure and an indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate. It also has a tin(IV) oxide (SnO2) buffer layer, a perovskite layer, a hole transport layer (HTL), and a layer made of copper. It was able to retain around 92% of its initial efficiency after 1,000 hours.

The new energy unit of Reliance Industries has signed an agreement to acquire a 20% stake in California-based perovskite solar startup Caelux for $12 million.

A research group in the Netherlands has analyzed different manufacturing techniques for two-dimensional Ruddlesden–Popper perovskite solar cells. These cells offer improved photostability and environmental stability compared with their three-dimensional counterparts.

A Korean research group has built an inverted perovskite cell that is able to retain 91.7% of its initial efficiency after 1,000 h under standard illumination conditions. They built the device with an electron-accepting interlayer that also acts as charge transport.

Researchers at the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory claim to have achieved a breakthrough for high-efficiency perovskite solar cells.

US scientists have discovered a lead-free perovskite material with ferroelectric properties that can be used in solar cells. The perovskite compound was grown from cesium germanium tribromide and initial analysis shows that it produces ferroelectricity.

Scientists from China developed a controllable moisture treatment for perovskite films that is reportedly able to promote the mass transportation of organic salts. The films were used to build a 0.2 cm2 perovskite solar cell that was able to retain 80% of its initial efficiency after 1200 h.

Researchers in Saudi Arabia claim to have reduced cell-to-module losses in tandem perovskite silicon photovoltaic devices through an optical redesign of the module through refractive-index engineering. They built a monolithic perovskite-silicon tandem mini-module with a power conversion efficiency of 26.2%.

An international team of scientists developed a nanoparticle structure which, when added to a solar cell, was shown to scatter light and potentially reflect it many times within the cell, contributing to a noticeable jump in current.

Scientists in China worked with nickel-oxide as a charge transport layer in a perovskite solar cell, and were able to overcome several of the performance challenges associated with this material through careful surface engineering. Using this approach, the group fabricated an inverted perovskite solar cell measuring 156×156 mm that achieved 18.6% efficiency, along with ‘remarkable’ stability, according to its designers.