November 2022

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) and University of North Texas have reported perovskite-based solar technology that can generate power when irradiated with light produced in household light sources like LED or CFL.

The results of this research could support IoT technology, which is being increasingly used in mobile phones, smart homes, and other applications that require various kinds of real-time data. These IoT devices are required to run independently without relying on electrical grids for power supply; primary and secondary batteries are currently used to power such devices. All batteries, irrespective of their kind, have a finite lifespan and are neither cost-effective nor eco-friendly.

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Jodhpur, India have developed a series of perovskite-based catalysts capable of efficiently producing hydrogen under ambient conditions. The end application of this research could be in the automotive and energy sectors, according to the statement issued by IIT Jodhpur. The developed catalysts are lanthanides-based perovskite nanocomposite materials for artificial photosynthesis. In the patented method, the researchers have used natural sunlight to convert water into hydrogen and oxygen, using a recyclable catalyst based on low-cost, simple transition metal.

The research team screened over 100 catalyst combinations to develop five sets of catalysts that gave high hydrogen production under sunlight. The catalysts work for wastewater, saline water and brackish water. They are recyclable and can be used multiple times. Lanthanide-based catalytic systems gave the best results and were found effective in continuous pure hydrogen production for 7.5 hours.

MBRAUN, a major mechanical and industrial engineering company and an affiliate of Germany’s Indus Holdings AG, plans to invest almost USD$750,000 (1 billion won) in a South Korean university as part of a deal to jointly conduct solar cell-related research and development projects. MBRAUN will also donate research equipment to Sungkyunkwan University and help it build facilities for the projects. With the investment, MBRAUN and Sungkyunkwan University’s Advanced Institute of Nano-Technology (SAINT) will establish an application lab at the research center in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province.

“Korea is the birthplace of technological innovation. That’s why we decided to donate research equipment to a Korean university,” Patrick Bieger, MBRAUN’s chief executive, said in a recent interview with The Korea Economic Daily in Seoul. He said it’s the first time that MBRAUN has decided to invest in a university, which shows how important the Korean market is in terms of technological innovations.

One of the main advantages of halide perovskites is their availability and ease of production. They are also characterized by the stable bound state of an electron and an electron hole that makes up an exciton. By connecting an exciton to light in a photonic crystal plate, researchers from Russia's ITMO University and the UK's University of Sheffield were able to reach record optical nonlinearity values, which makes the plates a promising tool for controlling optical signals and, in the future, can render them useful in optical computers. 

Condensed matter physics describes, among other things, exciton-polaritons, which are special states in materials caused by a strong connection between light and matter, a photon and an exciton. Excitons are positively charged quasiparticles that result from a bound state of electrons and electron holes; these particles can freely move in a semiconductor. When the bound electron and electron hole “fall” onto each other, the exciton annihilates, emitting a photon with the exciton’s resonance energy (frequency).

South Korea-based Qcells and a European research group (led by Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB)) have jointly established a pilot manufacturing line for silicon-perovskite tandem cells in Thalheim, Germany. The project aims to speed up the technology’s mass manufacturing and market penetration. The project began on 1 November.

The so-called "Pepperoni project" will establish a pilot manufacturing line in Thalheim, Qcell’s headquarters in Germany. The name stems from the broader project titled ‘Pilot line for European Production of PEROvskite-Silicon taNdem modules on Industrial scale' or PEPPERONI.

Researchers from The University of Tokyo and Yamagata University have addressed the difficulty in creating blue quantum dots by developing a unique self-organizing approach for producing lead bromide perovskite quantum dots. The research also incorporates cutting-edge imaging technology to characterize these novel blue quantum dots.

Quantum dots (QDs) are used in optoelectronic devices and quantum computing, among other things, and are referred to as "artificial atoms" due to their confined and distinct electronic properties. Quantum dots have characteristics that fall in between those of bulk semiconductors and individual atoms and molecules. Their photoelectric qualities vary depending on their size and shape. Quantum dots (QDs) are considered attractive materials for the emissive constituent of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) due to their high color intensity in a small spectral region, facile color tunability, and notable stability. Moreover, QD-based materials exhibit refined colors, longer lifetimes, reduced production costs, and lower energy requirements compared to typical luminescent materials used in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs).

Scientists from the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) have achieved 21.1 percent efficiency with tandem perovskite - CIGS solar cells. These thin-film-based modules are highly efficient, light and flexible and can open doors to many new use cases for which standard rigid modules are not suitable.

ZSW’s tandem solar module has an area of nine square centimeters and achieves 21.1 percent efficiency. This prototype also features scalable component architecture suitable for industrial manufacturing. The best performance attained to date with tandem solar modules made of perovskite and CIGS is just slightly higher at 22 percent. ZSW has already achieved an excellent efficiency level of 26.6 percent with this combination of materials in smaller laboratory cells.

In June 2021, Tokyo Chemical Industry Company Limited (TCI) started offering new hole selective self-assembled monolayer (SAM) forming agents, 2PACz [Product Number: C3663], MeO-2PACz [D5798] and Me-4PACz [M3359] for high performance perovskite solar cells and OPVs. Now, TCI has expanded its range of SAMs by adding two new high-efficiency materials: Me-2PACz [M3477] and Br-2PACz [B6391].

The SAM materials enable efficient, versatile and stable p-i-n perovskite solar cell devices. These materials are useful for tandem solar cells as they grant conformal coverage on rough textures. In fact, a perovskite solar cell that uses the SAM hole transport layer can realize more than 20% efficiency without using dopants or additives. Perovskite-Silicon tandem solar cells that use Me-4PACz as a hole contact material realized 29.15% efficiency. Costs are lowered thanks to extremely low material consumption, and the processing is very simple and scalable.

Researchers from Northwestern University, University of Toronto and the University of Toledo have developed an all-perovskite tandem solar cell with extremely high efficiency and "record-setting" voltage.

“Further improvements in the efficiency of solar cells are crucial for the ongoing decarbonization of our economy,” says U of T Engineering Professor Ted Sargent (ECE). “While silicon solar cells have undergone impressive advances in recent years, there are inherent limitations to their efficiency and cost, arising from material properties. Perovskite technology can overcome these limitations, but until now, it had performed below its full potential. Our latest study identifies a key reason for this and points a way forward.”

Researchers from the Department of Energy’s Ames National Laboratory and The University of Toledo have developed a new characterization tool that allowed them to gain unique insight into a perovskite material. Led by Ames' Jigang Wang, the team developed a microscope that uses terahertz waves to collect data on material samples. The team then used their microscope to explore Methylammonium Lead Iodide (MAPbI₃) perovskite.

Richard Kim, a scientist from Ames Lab, explained the two features that make the new scanning probe microscope unique. First, the microscope uses the terahertz range of electromagnetic frequencies to collect data on materials. This range is far below the visible light spectrum, falling between the infrared and microwave frequencies. Secondly, the terahertz light is shined through a sharp metallic tip that enhances the microscope’s capabilities toward nanometer length scales.