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

A sunny outlook for solar

News

New research demonstrates great promise of all-inorganic perovskite solar cells for improving the efficiencies of solar cells

Hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites have already demonstrated very high photovoltaic efficiencies of greater than 25 percent. The prevailing wisdom in the field is that the organic (carbon- and hydrogen-containing) molecules in the material are crucial to achieving this impressive performance because they are believed to suppress defect-assisted carrier recombination.

New research in the UC Santa Barbara materials department has shown not only that this assumption is incorrect, but also that all-inorganic materials have the potential for outperforming hybrid perovskites. The findings are published in the article 'All-inorganic halide perovskites as candidates for efficient solar cells' which appears on the cover of the October 20 issue of the journal Cell Reports Physical Science.

“To compare the materials, we performed comprehensive simulations of the recombination mechanisms,” explained Xie Zhang, lead researcher on the study. “When light shines on a solar-cell material, the photo-generated carriers generate a current; recombination at defects destroys some of those carriers and hence lowers the efficiency. Defects thus act as efficiency killers.”

To compare inorganic and hybrid perovskites, the researchers studied two prototype materials. Both materials contain lead and iodine atoms, but in one material the crystal structure is completed by the inorganic element caesium, while in the other, the organic methylammonium molecule is present.

Sorting out these processes experimentally is exceedingly difficult, but state-of-the-art quantum-mechanical calculations can accurately predict the recombination rates, thanks to new methodology that was developed in the group of UCSB materials professor Chris Van de Walle, who credited Mark Turiansky, a senior graduate student in the group, with helping to write the code to calculate the recombination rates.

“Our methods are very powerful for determining which defects cause carrier loss,” Turiansky said. “It is exciting to see the approach applied to one of the critical issues of our time, namely the efficient generation of renewable energy.”

Running the simulations showed that defects common to both materials give rise to comparable (and relatively benign) levels of recombination. However, the organic molecule in the hybrid perovskite can break up; when loss of hydrogen atoms occurs, the resulting “vacancies” strongly decrease efficiency. The presence of the molecule is thus a detriment, rather than an asset, to the overall efficiency of the material.

Why, then, has this not been noticed experimentally? Mainly because it is more difficult to grow high-quality layers of the all-inorganic materials. They have a tendency to adopt other crystal structures, and promoting the formation of the desired structure requires greater experimental effort. Recent research has shown, however, that achieving the preferred structure is definitely feasible. Still, the difficulty explains why the all-inorganic perovskites have not received as much attention to date.

“We hope that our findings about the expected efficiency will stimulate more activities directed at producing inorganic perovskites,” concluded Van de Walle.

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: