Researchers in China have set a new record after their all-perovskite tandem solar cell demonstrated a power conversion efficiency of 28.49%, according to Interesting Engineering.
The team, led by researchers from the Huazhong University of Science and Technology, published its work in the journal Nature and created its solar modules using perovskite — a mineral with a crystal structure that can help capture visible light and convert it into energy.
It has been touted as a "miracle material" since it can be used for lighter, cheaper, and more efficient solar cells than those made with silicon, which is typically the foundation for solar panels. However, those advantages have contributed to their limitations, as stability, durability, and optimization have prevented perovskites from full-scale implementation in solar cells.
The scientists aimed to solve non-radiative energy losses and, ultimately, efficiency issues by implementing surface modifiers 1,4-butanediamine and ethylenediammonium diiodide to fix defects on the tin-lead perovskite top cell, per the news outlet.
"Our strategy not only delivers high-quality Sn–Pb mixed perovskite films with a close-to-ideal stoichiometric ratio surface but also minimizes the non-radiative energy loss at the perovskite/electron transport layer interface," the study read.
The 0.0871-square-centimeter (0.0135-square-inch) solar cell also contained parts like a buckminsterfullerene-based electron transport layer, a hole transport layer made of a conductive polymer called PEDOT:PSS, and a gold metal contact.
The highest-performing tandem solar cell achieved a power conversion efficiency of 28.80%, an open-circuit voltage of 2.13, a short-circuit current density of 16.06 milliampere per square centimeter, and a fill factor of 84.19%. It also retained nearly 80% efficiency after running for 550 consecutive hours, all according to Interesting Engineering.
"We also sent one of the best-performing devices to a credible third-party organization and got a certified efficiency of 28.49%, which was one of the highest PCEs [power conversion efficiencies] reported to date for all-perovskite TSCs [tandem solar cells]," the researchers wrote in their report.
To test the scalability of the technology, the researchers tried the surface reconstruction in module-level devices, which still delivered a power conversion efficiency of 23.39%.
That figure is comparable to the marks achieved by a team from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which hit efficiencies of 19.60% and 19.21% with 84- and 108-centimeter-square-sized (about 13 square inches and 16.7 square inches) perovskite modules treated with zinc trifluoromethane sulfonate.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Institute of Science and Technology designed a molecular treatment for perovskite solar cells that could boost their power conversion efficiency to at least 20% and last 1,500-plus hours, according to a separate Interesting Engineering report.
All of these examples are positive developments in our movement to reduce our reliance on dirty energy sources and transition to more sustainable options such as solar, wind, and geothermal power.
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