Researchers at the University of Virginia and Cornell University have been working on self-assembling metal halide perovskite thin film solar cells for several years. They have recently developed a formulation that raises the hope that commercialization will be possible soon, hopefully within next five years. Such solar panels will simply be sprayed onto a surface, and self-assemble into a high-quality thin film automatically as they dry.
The scientists used high-intensity x-rays to observe the crystallization process to understand precisely how the low temperature self-assembly from a liquid solution to a solid single-crystal film works and observed the high-speed growth of crystallization of metal halide perovskites in real time on the atomic level. By adding different chemicals to the solution, they demonstrated how to control the orientation and speed of crystallization.
The biggest obstacle to commercialization is said to be eliminating lead from the current formulation. The researchers are currently searching for an alternative substitute metal, or an alternative growth method, to eliminate the need for toxic materials in their formulation.