Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Fuzhou University have reported a perovskite solar cell with an electron transport layer (ETL) based on Tin(IV) oxide (SnO₂) and crystalline polymeric carbon nitrides (cPCN).

The team explained that the modification of the SnO₂ layer with the cPCN is key to avoiding undesirable current-voltage hysteresis, which is responsible for reducing the cell's stability. This phenomenon tends to occur in electrical systems when current or voltage changes and the effects of the changes are delayed. It is dependent on the composition of the material, and ion migration and non-radiative recombination near interfaces are often considered responsible for the effect.

AMOLF researchers Lukas Helmbrecht and Wim Noorduin have developed a reactive ink that can be painted on an equally reactive canvas. The ink reacts with the material on the canvas to become a semiconductor that emits colored light, an essential part of electronic components such as LEDs.

Schematic illustration showing the fabrication of a spatially patterned perovskite film. Image from Advanced Materials

The AMOLF team's new ion exchange lithography technique enables one to paint a canvas by making the canvas itself change to a different color instead of brushing paint on it. In this technique, the 'ink' reacts with the 'canvas' by means of ion exchange. To demonstrate the technique, the team used it to airbrush an image of Madame Curie. 'I find it fascinating to see: the green image forms as soon as you start spraying, despite both the ink and the canvas being colorless', said Helmbrecht.

A study led by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory has shown a shape-shifting quality in perovskite oxides that could be promising for speeding up the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) that is vital for hydrogen production (and a variety of other chemical processes). The research shows that perovskite oxides could be used to design new materials for making renewable fuels and also for storing energy.

Surface evolution of a lanthanum cobalt oxide perovskite. Image credit: ANL

Perovskite oxides are less expensive than precious metals such as iridium or ruthenium that also promote OER. But perovskite oxides are not as active (in other words, efficient at accelerating the OER) as these metals, and they tend to slowly degrade.

Researchers from Australia's Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and Swinburne University of Technology have reported the creation of resilient, high-efficiency triple-cation perovskite solar cells (PSCs) by incorporating carbon dots (CDs) derived from human hair into the perovskite film.

QUT's Professor Hongxia Wang's team had previously found that nanostructured carbon materials could be used to improve a cell's performance. In their recent work, they tried using the carbon nanodots on perovskite solar cells. After adding a solution of carbon dots into the process perovskites synthesis, Professor Wang's team found the carbon dots forming a wave-like layer where the perovskite crystals are surrounded by the carbon dots.

A team of researchers, led by South Korea's UNIST and KIER, and Switzerland's EPFL, has reached 25.6% power conversion efficiency of perovskite solar cells by introducing an anion engineering concept that uses pseudo-halide anion formate to suppress anion-vacancy defects and augment crystallinity.

Perovskite derivatives have been investigated to overcome instability issues with lead-based organic perovskite materials in ambient air and reduce the use of lead. Researchers have introduced various methods to improve conversion efficiency. An engineering concept using formate, which is the anion derived from formic acid, was introduced by researchers.

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China-based Wuxi Utmost Light Technology (UtmoLight) has announced that it has reached a new world record of 20.5% power conversion efficiency for its perovskite mini-module with a designated area of 63.98 cm². The result was reportedly certified by the internationally recognized test center ' Japan Electrical Safety & Environment Technology Laboratories (JET).

UtmoLight plans to build production lines for manufacturing large-area perovskite solar modules to accelerate the commercialization of its perovskite photovoltaic technology.

A team of scientists, led by Professor Feng Yan from Department of Applied Physics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, and co-workers, recentky developed a novel method to overcome the drawback of grain boundaries (GBs) in perovskites without using defect passivation.

Several 2D materials, including black phosphorus (BP), MoS₂ and graphene oxide (GO), were specifically modified on the edge of perovskite GBs by a solution process. The 2D materials have high carrier mobilities, ultrathin thicknesses and smooth surfaces without dangling bonds. The PCEs of the devices are substantially enhanced by the 2D flakes, in which BP flakes can induce the highest relative enhancement of about 15%.

Researchers from Kanazawa University and Tokai University in Japan, in collaboration with other institutes, have developed a perovskite solar cell based on a titanium oxide (TiO₂) compact electron transport layer (ETL), which they claim is the most efficient PV device of its kind to be produced at the research level to date.

They researchers used a spray pyrolysis deposition (SPD) technique, which is generally used for temperature decomposition of organic material in the absence of oxygen. This process is known to provide excellent rate capability and high cycling stability. It is used in the chemical industry to produce ethylene, carbon and chemicals from petroleum, coal and even wood, in addition to producing coke from coal.