They have developed a self-organizing monolayer thanks to which perovskite solar cells can adapt to more efficient energy production. A post dedicated to this potentially revolutionary technology was recently published in… Sciences.
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As its authors explain, their research will have far-reaching consequences and should lead to applications that will seriously change the solar industry. Why these bold statements? This is primarily due to the fact that perovskite solar cells are characterized by thermal instability. Therefore, its performance is unsatisfactory when temperatures rise to high values.
This monolayer, which members of the research team called SAM, was placed on the surface of nickel oxide. In this way, it became possible to increase the thermal resistance of the cells, which should be a very important step in the context of the commercial potential of this type of panels.
The layer of material the scientists used made the perovskite solar cells more resistant to high temperatures
What performance are we talking about exactly? Firstly, the implementation of a heat-resistant layer means that the cells retain more than 90% of their efficiency. Its conversion efficiency is 25.6%, even when operating at temperatures as high as 65°C. These values were recorded for more than 1000 hours.
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The study’s lead author, Li Zhou, compares perovskite solar cells to…a sports car that performs great on cold days, but tends to overheat and perform worse in hot weather. During the research, it was found that exposing cells to high temperatures can break the chemical bonds in SAM molecules. The introduction of proper protection has completely changed this situation. Now is the time for a key test: can the developed solution be used on an industrial scale and revolutionize energy production?
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