+44 (0)24 7671 8970
More publications     •     Advertise with us     •     Contact us
 
Loading...
{megaLeaderboard}
{normalLeaderboard}
News Article

NREL develops scalable perovskite ink

Long processing window allows scalable production of thin films for high-efficiency solar cells

 

Samples of solar cells grown using a new perovskite ink.

Scientists at the US Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have developed a new perovskite ink with a long processing window that allows the scalable production of perovskite thin films for high-efficiency solar cells.

Proven highly efficient at converting sunlight into electricity, perovskite solar cells have yet to move beyond the laboratory.

The crystalline structure of perovskites must be carefully grown upon a substrate, which is normally done by laboratory-scale spin coating - a technology that can't be scaled to large-scale manufacturing. The best devices fabricated using scalable deposition methods, which are suitable for future module production, still lag behind state-of-the-art spin-coated devices.

How the NREL scientists overcame this obstacle is spelled out in a new paper published in Nature Energy, 'Perovskite ink with wide processing window for scalable high-efficiency solar cells'. Kai Zhu, a senior scientist in NREL's Chemistry and Nanoscience Centre, is lead author. The co-authors are Mengjin Yang, Zhen Li, Matthew Reese, Obadiah Reid, Dong Hoe Kim, Sebastian Siol, Talysa Klein, Joseph Berry, and Michael van Hest from NREL, and Yanfa Yan from the University of Toledo.

To create a perovskite film, a coating of chemicals is deposited on a substrate and heated to fully crystalise the material. The various steps involved often overlap with each other and complicate the process. 

One critical stage requires the addition of an antisolvent that extracts the precursor chemicals, and thus create crystals of good quality. The window for this step opens and closes within seconds, which is detrimental for manufacturing due to the precision required to make this time window.

NREL researchers were able to keep that window open as long as 8 minutes.

The formula for the precursor perovskite ink included a chlorine-containing methylammonium lead iodide precursor along with solvent tuning, coupled with an antisolvent, which could be deposited onto the substrate by either spin-coating or blade-coating methods. Both methods were tested and produced indistinguishable film morphology and device performance. Blade-coating is more attractive to manufacturers because it can easily be scaled up.

The researchers tested one precursor ink containing excess methylammonium iodide (MAI) and a second containing added methylammonium chloride (MACI). The MACI proved most effective in reducing the length of heat treatment the perovskites require, cutting the time to about a minute compared to  ten minutes for the MAI solution. The shorter time also should make the process more attractive to manufacturers.

Using blade-coated absorbers, NREL scientists made a four-cell perovskite module measuring about 12.6 cm2. Of that, 11.1cm2 were active in converting sunlight to energy and did so with a stabilised efficiency of 13.3 percent.

This research is supported by the DOE's SunShot Initiative, a US national effort to drive down the cost of solar electricity and support solar adoption. 

Schletter Group: 48 MWp Project in Italy
ENCAVIS Acquires Two More Solar Parks In Spain and Surpasses The Planned Expansion
Maximum profitability with KACO advanced technology for complex solar roofs
Enviromena wins contract to re-power three major solar farms ahead of the summer energy peak
New Swansea University Collaboration to Support Sustainable, Locally Manufactured Solar PV
New Swansea University Collaboration to Support Sustainable, Locally Manufactured Solar PV
Next2Sun Builds World's Largest Vertical PV Plant at Frankfurt Airport
DNV Publishes Bankability Study of Solcast Satellite Irradiance Data
Steel company SSAB switches to fossil-free energy in Italy with PV solution from Solnet
janom Investments enters the Croatian solar energy industry by investing in a 30 MW power plant project
Trina Solar Vertex S+ 505W n-type dual-glass modules enter mass production
BayWa r.e. and 3E sign partnership agreement for monitoring & analytics of global PV portfolio
Accelerating Spain's Energy Transformation: LONGi to supply Naturgy with 1 million modules in new deal
NTR announces corporate PPA with Almac Group to buy energy from Murley Wind Farm, Northern Ireland
Oxford PV sets new solar panel efficiency world record
Order Intake for the Construction of Wind Turbines in Turkey
Trilantic Europe acquires stake in AEROCOMPACT Group
Octopus Energy makes solar farm debut in Germany
Austria-based KOGA Energy, a solar EPC solutions provider, has kicked off.
Exus to acquire 625MW New Mexico solar portfolio
Capcora Accompanies SUSI Partners In Raising Senior Debt For a Polish Renewables Portfolio
Qualitas Energy acquires a 96 MW wind energy project pipeline in Germany
Nordex Group receives orders from the UK for approx. 150 MW
Trina Solar gains EPD certification from UL Solutions and EPDItaly for industry leading modules
Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London instals innovative solar tech to decarbonise heating
Efficiency First: The Road to Electrification
SCHLETTER Supplies Austria's Largest PV Roof System
E.ON partners with UK renewable heat innovator Naked Energy
Sonnedix signs innovative EUR500 million loan facility to finance construction of its renewable electricity pipeline in Europe and UK
Construction begins on Glennmont and Ørsted’s Borkum Riffgrund 3 offshore wind farm in Germany
ABB shores up reliable power supply at Southeast Asia’s largest floating solar plant
Sonnedix starts construction of 300MW UK solar PV portfolio

×
Search the news archive

To close this popup you can press escape or click the close icon.
Logo
×
Logo
×
Register - Step 1

You may choose to subscribe to the Solar + Power Magazine, the Solar + Power Newsletter, or both. You may also request additional information if required, before submitting your application.


Please subscribe me to:

 

You chose the industry type of "Other"

Please enter the industry that you work in:
Please enter the industry that you work in: