Perovskite Solar Cells Would Improve Flexibility And Lower The Costs Of Future Green Technology

The future in renewable energy technology relies on solar cells. But, until now, the major obstacle in their development has been their inherent robustness and high costs of production. Lately, researchers around the world work on perovskite solar cells which would improve flexibility and lower the costs of future green technology.

In a new study, researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology, University of California San Diego, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology discovered that, indeed, perovskite-based green energy devices are more flexible and cheaper than other technologies based on solar cells.

Solar cells based on perovskite, which is a mineral composed primarily of calcium titanate, “offer a lot of potential advantages because they are extremely lightweight and can be made with flexible plastic substrates. To be able to compete in the marketplace with silicon-based solar cells, however, they need to be more efficient,” said Juan-Pablo Correa-Baena from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Perovskite Solar Cells Are The Future Of “Green” Technology

Until now, the most significant challenge in the production of renewable energy technology using perovskite solar cells has been that short lifespan of these elements which only lasted for several months. Now, the new study showed that adding alkali metal to standard perovskites boosts the performance of green technology based on perovskites.

“We knew from earlier work that adding cesium and rubidium to a mixed bromine and iodine lead perovskite leads to better stability and higher performance,” Correa-Baena added.

“We found that uniformity in the chemistry and structure is what helps a perovskite solar cell operate at its fullest potential. Any heterogeneity in that backbone is like a weak link in the chain. Perovskites could really change the game in solar. They have the potential to reduce costs without giving up performance. But there’s still a lot to learn fundamentally about these materials,” also explained David Fenning from the University of California San Diego.