Unlocking the potential of next-gen perovskite solar cells

Cheaper and more efficient solar cells for households and commercial applications are a step closer thanks to new research that will help prove the stability and longevity of this emerging technology.

Within the last decade, perovskite solar cells (pero-SCs) have emerged as a promising alternative to traditional silicon solar cells.

Although they are a relatively new technology - and likely decades away from being widely adopted - pero-SCs are cheaper, easier to make, and more efficient than traditional silicon based solar cells.

Before they can be more widely adopted in commercial and residential settings, they must be better understood, says Dr Julian Steele from The University of Queensland’s Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology. 

“Through this paper, we have demonstrated that there is a critical gap in understanding the operational lifetime of pero-SCs, particularly under real-world operating conditions,” he says.

Thanks to Dr Steele and a team of researchers from Soochow University in China and Linköping University in Sweden, new protocols to test the stability and longevity of pero-SCs have been established, paving the way for new testing platforms to be developed here in Australia – which will facilitate the creation and adoption of these advanced solar cells.

Published in Nature, the study challenges established beliefs about how to reliably test the stability of pero-SCs and what actually happens during the natural day/night cycling.

Researchers found the usual testing protocols for traditional silicon solar cells, which typically involves testing devices during prolonged exposures of unchanging light and heat, are no longer valid for materials like perovskites.

This is because perovskite crystals, in contrast to silicon, undergo large changes in volume due to temperature changes and the day/night cycle.

To address this challenge, the researchers introduced a compound called phenylselenenyl chloride (Ph-Se-Cl) to help regulate the degree of thermal expansion in the pero-SCs and limit the straining or degradation.

“If we want to get technical, this modification not only improved the T80 lifetime by tenfold but also achieved a certified efficiency of 26.3 per cent, marking among the best performing pero-SC in the world right now and a significant advancement in pero-SC technology,” Dr Steele says.

“This is an early step that underscores the necessity for systematic investigations into the long-term stability of pero-SCs, particularly under conditions that mimic their actual deployment,” he says.

“As the field evolves, understanding and mitigating the degradation mechanisms of pero-SCs will be essential for their commercial viability and widespread adoption.”

Dr Steele is a DECRA research fellow with UQ’s School of Mathematics and Physics and works at the AIBN alongside senior group leader and ARC Laureate Professor Lianzhou Wang.  

Check out the Nature-published research on perovskite solar cells right here.