Perovskites

A Swiss-Japanese research group has used ionic liquids doping to improve the efficiency and stability of perovskite solar cells. Their champion device showed an open-circuit voltage of 1.16 V, a short-circuit current of 24.03 (mA cm−2), and a fill factor of 0.818. It was also able to retain around 95% of its initial efficiency after 1,000 hours of operation.

The cell is based on ferrocene and is claimed to retain more than 98% of its initial efficiency after continuously operating at the maximum power point for 1,500 hours under standard illumination conditions.

An international research group has developed a perovskite solar panel on a 192 square-centimeter surface. The researchers claim the panel has one of the highest efficiencies reported at this size to date.

Researchers in Germany have built a perovskite-organic solar cell with low interfacial losses and a high open-circuit voltage. The device achieved an open-circuit voltage of 2.15 V, a short-circuit current of 14.0 mA cm−², and a fill factor of 80%.

NGK Insulators has invested an undisclosed sum in Enecoat, which develops perovskite solar cells via a wet process based on organic chemistry, a low-temperature coating process, and roll-to-roll printing.

Scientists in Canada fabricated a perovskite solar cell based on an inverted structure that achieved 23.9% efficiency, and maintained 92% of its initial performance after 500 hours of accelerated aging tests. By carefully controlling the thickness of the perovskite layer, the group was also able to gain control of “quantum mechanics” properties such as the movement of electrons within the layer and the wavelengths of light absorbed.

An international research team has designed a carbon-based perovskite solar cell without a hole transport layer. Two plasmonic nanoparticles – Ag@SiO2 and SiO2@Ag@SiO2 – were added to the cell photoactive layer, in addition to a copper(I) thiocyanate (CuSCN) interlayer at the perovskite-carbon interface.

An Iranian-Italian research group has simulated a double-junction tandem solar cell based on perovskite and tin sulfide. They said that it can reach an efficiency rating of between 22.9% and 28.92%.

A German research group has used spectroscopic methods based on terahertz or microwave radiation and has discovered that they might help with more precise assessments of the characteristics and performance of solar cells. Their proposed approach purportedly enables the evaluation of maximum possible efficiency levels for emerging materials such as perovskites in solar cells.

Developed for applications in BIPV, vehicle-integrated solar and smart glasses, the solar cell was built with an ultra-thin, semi-transparent, triple-cation perovskite film and gold nanorods (Au NRs). The device achieved an open-circuit voltage of 1097.1mV, a short-circuit current of 17.11mA/cm² and a fill factor of 73.12%.