Scientists from Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and Slovak Academy of Sciences have demonstrated a power conversion efficiency of 28.1% for a perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell based on textured silicon wafers.

Textured silicon wafers used in silicon solar cell manufacturing offer superior light trapping, which is a critical enabler for high-performance photovoltaics. The team explained that a similar optical benefit can be obtained in monolithic perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells, enhancing the current output of the silicon bottom cell. Yet, such complex silicon surfaces may affect the structural and optoelectronic properties of the overlying perovskite films.

Researchers from the University of Cambridge have developed a system that can transform plastic waste and greenhouse gases into sustainable fuels and other valuable products – using energy from the Sun. The team states that this is the first time that a system that can convert two waste streams into two chemical products at the same time has been achieved in a solar-powered reactor.

The reactor converts carbon dioxide (CO₂) and plastics into different products that are useful in a range of industries. In tests, CO₂ was converted into syngas, a key building block for sustainable liquid fuels, and plastic bottles were converted into glycolic acid, which is widely used in the cosmetics industry. The system can easily be tuned to produce different products by changing the type of catalyst used in the reactor. The integrated reactor, which uses a light absorber based on perovskites, has two separate compartments: one for plastic, and one for greenhouse gases. 

Perovskite-Info is happy to announce the 2023 edition of The Perovskite Handbook. This book is a comprehensive guide to perovskite materials, applications and industry. Perovskites are an exciting class of materials that feature a myriad of exciting properties and are considered the future of solar cells, displays, sensors, LEDs and more. The handbook is now updated to January 2023 and lists recent developments and new companies, initiatives and research activities.

Reading this book, you'll learn all about:

• Different perovskite materials, their properties and structure
• How perovskites can be made, tuned and used
• What kinds of applications perovskites may be suitable for
• What the obstacles on the way to a perovskite revolution are
• Perovskite solar cells, their merits and challenges
• Perovskite QDs, LEDs, and other applications
• The state of the perovskite market, potential and future

The book also provides: a history of perovskite research, a guide to perovskite companies and developers, information on leading collaboration and development projects, a comprehensive list of perovskite companies, market updates and much more!

A research collaborative project involving scientists from Sweden's Karlstad University and Israel's Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Weizmann Institute of Science will examine how perovskite solar cells could recover and self-repair at night.

Metal halide perovskite materials have been shown to possess a self-repairing ability. One of the Israeli research teams have shown that metal halide perovskite solar cells, which degrade in sunlight, can rebuild their efficiency at night, when it’s dark. The other Israeli research team exposed single crystals of lead-based metal halide perovskites to powerful lasers, which made them lose their ability to glow. The researchers then found that the material regained its photoluminescence following some recuperation time in darkness. Even if these two observations — one in the solar cell’s thin, multicrystalline layer and the other one in single crystals — seem related, the potential relation between these two phenomena still needs to be better understood, and how it works.

Researchers from Yonsei University, Sungkyunkwan University and Institute for Basic Science (IBS) have proposed a rapid crystallization method based on hot-antisolvent bathing for realization of deep-blue  perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs). The rapid crystallization method manipulates 2D perovskite phase evolution by controlling the crystallization kinetics for the fabrication of phase-pure 2D Ruddlesden‒Popper perovskites (2D-RPPs), enabling deep-blue-emissive perovskite LEDs.

PeLEDs are considered as promising candidates for next-generation solution-processed full-color displays. However, the external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) and operational stabilities of deep-blue (<460 nm) PeLEDs still lag far behind their red and green counterparts. 2D-RPPs have excellent optoelectronic properties—ideal for LEDs. Although 2D-RPP-based LEDs have rapidly progressed in terms of performance, it is still challenging to demonstrate blue-emissive and color-pure LEDs. The deep blue of current LED displays is usually produced by indium gallium nitride (InGaN), a costly substance. In the field of LEDs, researchers are seeking alternatives and one of them could be found in 2D-RPPs.

Chinese perovskite solar technology company Renshine Solar (Suzhou) has announced 29.0% steady-state power conversion efficiency of all-perovskite tandem solar cell developed in-house. The company now expects to exceed 30% in 2023.

Japan Electrical Safety and Environment Technology Laboratories (JET) has reportedly certified the efficiency claim that was reported for a designated area of 0.04888 cm².

University of Sydney's Professor Anita Ho-Baillie is joining forces with Sydney-based renewable technology company SunDrive to commercialize perovskite-silicon cells, with backing from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) of AUD$2.78 million (over USD$1.9 million).

Other investigators on the project include Professor David McKenzie, Dr Jianghui Zheng and Dr Arafat Mahmud, who are based at the University of Sydney, and Mr Vince Allen, Mr David Hu and Professor Alison Lennon from SunDrive.

Researchers from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities-led, University of Wisconsin–Madison and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have developed a new method for making thin films of perovskite oxide semiconductors, a class of “smart” materials with unique properties that can change in response to stimuli like light, magnetic fields, or electric fields. 

Their work could allow researchers to harness these properties and even combine them with other emerging nano-scale materials to make better devices such as sensors, smart textiles, and flexible electronics.

Warwick University has been granted £2.2 million (over USD$2,620,000) to investigate metal halide perovskite compounds, for use in transparent and flexible solar panels, which remain stable in space. A new Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometer will be used to understand how to increase lifespan and durability of these solar cells.

The European Research Council (ERC) has approved a five-year study which will explore the atomic-level structure of perovskite solar cell materials. This will address issues including stability and lifespan of metal halide perovskite compounds, which decrease in high humidity, strong sunlight and at elevated temperatures.

Researchers from Singapore's Nanyang Technological University have examined how thermal evaporation (TE) could be used to fabricate mini perovskite solar modules. TE are mature techniques that are commonly used in the microelectronic and optoelectronic industries to produce organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), metal contacts, and various coatings.

The research team analyzed the use of several evaporation-based techniques to fabricate halide perovskite thin films, from the relatively simple single-source deposition and multi-source co-evaporation to the more complex multistep evaporation and hybrids of thermal evaporation with gas reaction and solution processing. The team explained that this combined approach exploits the advantages of both methods, but also has some limitations, such as increased complexity and the use of solvents.