Scientists at the Hong Kong Institute of Science and Technology have developed a new treatment that prolongs the life and efficiency of solar cells.
According to Aman Tripathi of Interesting Engineering, the researchers have created a molecular treatment for perovskite solar cells that increases their power conversion efficiency by over 20%, and it has shown an operational stability of over 1,500 hours.
While solar cells are typically made of silicon, perovskite has been gaining popularity in recent years because it is cheaper and has a higher energy efficiency than silicon. The problem is the stability and tendency to degrade more quickly than silicon counterparts.
In an effort to solve the problem, the Hong Kong research team focused on a process known as passivation, in which a chemical compound is applied to the perovskite to "reduce defects and improve their overall performance."
The project was a resounding success, according to assistant professor Lin Hen-Yuang.
"These devices reached high open-circuit voltages beyond 90% of the thermodynamic limit," Lin said in a press release on the discovery, "Benchmarking against about 1,700 sets of data from existing literature showed that their result was among the best reported to date in terms of efficiency in energy conversion."
On top of that, the passivation process is highly scalable, meaning it can easily be ramped up to industrial levels and can be affordably produced at that scale of production.
Solar energy is booming globally; in the U.S., solar power accounted for almost 80% of new energy production in 2024 on an industrial scale. On a smaller scale, rooftop solar panels are popping up everywhere from vodka distilleries to new-build homes. Finding a new way to improve solar panels' affordability and efficiency could help meet growing demand.
If the perovskite treatment is as effective at scale as it has been in testing, we could see a boom in more affordable, efficient, and durable panels around the world.
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