May 2021

Researchers at McGill University have gained new insight into the inner workings of perovskites, especially their ability to function even despite the existence of defects in the materials' crystal structure.

"Historically, people have been using bulk semiconductors that are perfect crystals. And now, all of a sudden, this imperfect, soft crystal starts to work for semiconductor applications, from photovoltaics to LEDs," explains senior author Patanjali Kambhampati, an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry at McGill. "That's the starting point for our research: how can something that's defective work in a perfect way?"

BlueDot Photonics, developer of solutions to improve solar panel performance, has announced that it raised $1 million in its Series Seed financing. The round was led by VoLo Earth Ventures, an early-stage VC investing in the new energy economy through innovative products and technologies.

BlueDot Photonics brought over $1.5M in non-dilutive grants and projects to the table to help the company towards its goal of creating gigaton reductions in greenhouse gas emissions through faster deployment of solar power. BlueDot's quantum-cutting technology can lower the cost of solar power by up to 10% by improving energy yield in solar panels by up to 16%. Long-term, BlueDot is committed to pushing solar panel efficiency and costs beyond the limits of current silicon technology. Other investors include Clean Energy Venture Group (CEVG) of Boston, MA, who helped with investment syndication, and E8 of Seattle, WA.

Perovskite quantum dots have great potential as quantum emitters, but their inherent instability has thus far hampered their acceptance. Professor Hao-Wu Lin of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Associate Professor Chih-Sung Chuu of the Department of Physics, and Professor Richard Schaller of the Department of Chemistry at Northwestern University in the United States have jointly developed a perovskite quantum emitter with high stability and self-healing ability by a self-developed, simple, and economical procedure'spray-synthesis method. The unprecedented single-photon brightness of these quantum dots is said to break the world-record.

Lin said that in contrast with other quantum emitters, perovskite quantum dots can realize single photon emission at room temperature and have excellent optical properties, such as high quantum yield and high color purity, making them ideal for displays and high-speed computing and communications.

A research team, led by scientists at the ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science, has shown that the two-dimensional (2D) thin films used in some perovskite solar cells closely resemble a sandwich.

This discovery changed common concepts as previously, scientists thought these 2D perovskite films had a 'gradient' structure, in which certain components were found deep in the material, with other complementary elements only located nearer to the surface. However, the members of Exciton Science based at the University of Melbourne, together with collaborators at Australia's national science agency CSIRO and Shandong University, have provided evidence for a sandwich-like structure, in which two layers of the same type (the bread) surround one central, contrasting layer (the filling).

Scientists from Swansea University have found that a non-toxic biodegradable solvent called GVL could remove a major barrier to the production of printed carbon perovskite solar cells.

A known barrier to the large-scale manufacture and commercialization of these cells is the solvents used to control crystallization of the perovskite during fabrication because they are made from toxic, unsustainable materials that are banned in many countries. Now, researchers at SPECIFIC Innovation and Knowledge Centre, Swansea University, have discovered that a non-toxic, biodegradable solvent called GVL (γ-Valerolactone) could replace these solvents without impacting cell performance.

Saule Technologies has launched its first production line of perovskite solar cells - printed on polymer films. The Company has developed a method for making perovskite solar cells at room temperature. The cells can be used on a variety of surfaces - from price tags to building facades and space satellites.

The company sees a great future for the new type of solar cells and expects them to be used on cars, truck tarpaulins, sails, tents, clothing, tablets and laptop cases. Saule Technologies believe that such cells will also power drones and Internet of Things (IoT) devices and writes that the variety of applications for perovskite photovoltaic cells is practically unlimited".

Chinese perovskite module maker Microquanta has reported 20.2% conversion efficiency on a 20cm², 'third generation' solar cell. The Company said the result had been confirmed by Vhinese government's 'China Institute of Metrology'.

Microquanta said it takes stability and conversion efficiency as two fundamentals of perovskite solar modules and believes, with the help of improved efficiency and stability, the commercialization of such devices will be greatly accelerated.

A team of researchers from the universities of Marburg, Giessen and Paderborn has combined the advantages of two-dimensional materials and hybrid perovskites, to create new materials to benefit computer chips, light-emitting diodes and solar cells.

The team explains that the development of new two-dimensional materials has, to date, been rather limited to structures with layers of rigid chemical bonds in two spatial directions - like a sheet of paper in a stack. Now, for the first time, the research team led by Dr. Johanna Heine (Inorganic Chemistry, Philipps University of Marburg) has overcome this limitation by using an innovative concept. The researchers developed an organic-inorganic hybrid crystal which consists of chains in a single direction, yet still forms two-dimensional layers in spite of this. This makes it possible to combine different material components, like pieces in a construction set, to create tailored materials with innovative properties.

Researchers at China's Huazhong University of Science and Technology have reported a perovskite solar module with an active area of 20.77cm².

Cross-sectional schematic illustration of the fabricated module coupled with the deposition methods of the functional layers. Image from Science Advances

The scientists used diphenyl sulfoxide (DPSO) as an electron acceptor and combined it with a formamidinium-cesium (FACs) perovskite precursor solution. 'DPSO is demonstrated to impressively enlarge the nucleation energy barrier, effectively retard the natural nucleation of perovskite during the slot-die coating process, and stabilize the wet precursor film,' they explained.

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