Perovskite materials - Page 2

Researchers from China's Ningbo University and Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have developed a universal thermal reduction method to convert spent cobalt-based perovskites into high-performance bifunctional oxygen catalysts for zinc-air batteries (ZABs), achieving high-efficient Cobalt (Co) recovery and re-utilization. 

Cobalt is widely used in energy storage and conversion devices, although its content on our planet is not sufficient. Therefore, recycling it from spent Co-enriched materials is very valuable. Co-based perovskites, which contain abundant Co, are extensively utilized in solid oxide fuel cells, three-way catalysts, and oxygen-permeable membranes, and the recovery of Co from the spent Co-based perovskites is necessary to meet the long-term requirement of Co.

Researchers at EPFL, Shanghai University and Université catholique de Louvain recently developed a method based on machine-learning to quickly and accurately search large databases, leading to the discovery of 14 new materials for solar cells.

The research project, led by EPFL's Haiyuan Wang and Alfredo Pasquarello, developed a method that combines advanced computational techniques with machine-learning to search for optimal perovskite materials for photovoltaic applications. The approach could lead to more efficient and cheaper solar panels, transforming solar industry standards.

Researchers from Japan's Shibaura Institute of Technology and National Institute for Materials Science have developed a method to grow single-crystal perovskite hydrides, enabling accurate hydride conductivity measurements.

Perovskite hydrides, whose molecular structure contains hydrogen anions (H−), attract special attention because of their hydrogen-derived properties and many believe they can be useful for hydrogen storage technologies such as fuel cells and next-generation batteries, as well as energy-saving superconducting cables. However, measuring their intrinsic hydride-ion conductivity is difficult. In their recent study, the researchers addressed this issue using a novel laser deposition technique in an H-radical atmosphere. Using this approach, they grew thin-film single crystals of two different perovskite hydrides and characterized their hydride-ion conductivity. 

Crystallization, the phenomenon that transforms disordered atoms or molecules into ordered solid-state structures, is an immensely studied process. However, while researchers have made significant strides in controlling the nucleation of crystals from precursor solutions, directing their subsequent growth to form defect-free single crystals with tailored shapes has proven far more challenging. This limitation has been particularly problematic for materials like halide perovskites, where controlling the formation of defects results in better photoelectric properties. Conventional techniques like inverse temperature crystallization or antisolvent vapor-assisted crystallization allow some control over average growth conditions, but their ability to pattern arbitrary single-crystal geometries while suppressing defect formation has remained confined.

Now, researchers at Tsinghua University have demonstrated optofluidic crystallithography (OCL), a novel approach that leverages a laser as a precise "pen" to simultaneously control the shape and quality of single-crystal halide perovskites as they grow from solution at record speeds.

SoFab Inks, a supplier of specialty materials used in perovskite manufacturing, has introduced a new high-performance, low-cost electron transport layer (ETL), designed to enhance the durability and manufacturability of perovskite solar cells.

SoFab's new product is a functionalized nanoparticle ink that can be tuned with a dopant. This innovative ETL offers a range of benefits, including low-temperature solution processability, excellent photostability, high chemical stability, robust electron conductivity, good optical transparency, wide band gap, and favorable alignment with perovskites.

SoFab's team has reported a PCE of over 20% in an inverted perovskite solar cell architecture made with a plastic substrate. The Company anticipates that its patented ETL could serve as a viable substitute for the commonly employed C60, an expensive organic ETL notorious for delamination issues and Voc pinning.

Researchers from Germany's Philipps-University Marburg, Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Fraunhofer Research Institution for Materials Recycling and Resource Strategies IWKS, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Sweden's Uppsala University have examined the question of availability of enough materials to produce perovskite PVs on the multi-terawatt-scale needed to make a significant contribution to climate change mitigation.

The scientists assessed the material demand for a multi-TW-scale perovskite PV production, identified potential supply risks for each material, and derived guidelines for further device optimization and material research. The study is based on a model for future multi-TW perovskite PV production that is coupled to an inventory of the most relevant materials used for PSC production. The team considered two factors of supply criticality, namely, mining capacity for minerals and the production capacity for synthetic materials. 

Tokyo Chemical Industry (TCI), a global supplier of laboratory chemicals and specialty materials, launched a new high-performance hole collecting material (HCM), that can be used to enhance the performance of inverted perovskite solar cells, as it efficiently collects holes from the perovskite layer.

TCI's new 3PATAT-C3 is a SAM formation reagent, with face-on orientation to the substrate surface. It strongly binds to the ITO layer, has a high coverage ratio and it offers efficient charge recovery from the perovskite layer. The material is now available in high purity, and preparations are underway with a view to large-scale supply. See here for more info.

Both ferromagnetic and ferroelectric materials are widely used today, and can coexist together in so-called multiferroic compounds, which can be traced back to the 1950s. Their use in modern technology has seen a recent resurgence as multiferroic compounds are energy-efficient and could be used in information storage devices for computers, servers, and hard drives.

Working with researchers from Kyoto University in Japan, Northwestern Engineering’s James Rondinelli discovered the first all-inorganic halide perovskite-derived multiferroic material, exhibiting a form of ferroelectricity called hybrid improper ferroelectricity which is also coupled to magnetic properties. In the past, studies of multiferroic compounds had been largely limited to transition metal oxides, yet many other materials classes can exhibit this phenomenon.

Researchers at Germany's Forschungszentrum Jülich have reported a method to fabricate >1-micrometer thick perovskite films by employing hole-transporting bilayers of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) and poly[bis(4-phenyl) (2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)amine] (PTAA). Recognizing the critical role transport layers play in exacerbating thickness-dependent losses, the team optimized a dual-layer hole transport architecture to reduce resistive losses and recombination. The authors achieved remarkable efficiency retention at over 1 micron thickness.

This work focuses on a solar cell architecture that decouples thickness from efficiency limitations. By sandwiching specialty organic films around the perovskite layer, the authors enabled micron-scale thicknesses without forfeiting peak performance. Their design notably achieves a remarkable 20.2% efficiency at over 1 micron thickness with minimal losses compared to thinner versions.

A team led by RIKEN researchers recently investigated how certain perovskite materials convert light into electricity. Their findings could hel improve their efficiency and use in solar cells.

Solar cells convert light into electricity by a phenomenon known as the photovoltaic effect. The vast majority of solar cells consist of two semiconductors put together—one with an excess of electrons and the other being electron deficient. This is because the setup has a high conversion efficiency. But another photovoltaic effect has also been attracting attention—the bulk photovoltaic effect, so called because it only involves a single material. While its conversion efficiency is currently rather low, recent research has suggested ways for improving its efficiency.