The Perovskite-Info newsletter (March 22, 2022)

Researchers at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, along with colleagues from five other universities around the world, have discovered a major reason why perovskite solar cells degrade in sunlight, causing their performance to suffer over time.

The team demonstrated a simple manufacturing adjustment to fix the cause of the degradation, addressing one of the biggest hurdles toward the commercialization of the perovskite-based solar cell technology.

Researchers from North Carolina State University and the University at Buffalo have developed a ‘self-driving lab’ that uses artificial intelligence (AI) and fluidic systems to advance the understanding of metal halide perovskite (MHP) nanocrystals. This self-driving lab can also be used to investigate other semiconductor and metallic nanomaterials.

“We’ve created a self-driving laboratory that can be used to advance both fundamental nanoscience and applied engineering,” says Milad Abolhasani, corresponding author of a paper on the work and an associate professor of chemical and bimolecular engineering at NC State.

A research team, led by Professor Iván Mora Seró from the Institute of Advanced Materials (INAM) of the Universitat Jaume I of Castelló, has improved the efficiency and durability of tin perovskite solar cells. The cells presented in the recent study exceeded 1,300 hours of operational stability, thanks to the incorporation of additives in the preparation of the devices.

Tin-based halide perovskites are being studied as potential candidates for lead-free perovskite solar cells. In the case of tin, an efficiency of more than 14% has been achieved so far, but it has major stability problems. This new work has introduced a combination of dipropylammonium iodide and sodium borohydride, two additives that have made it possible to prepare devices with PCEs of more than 10%, which boast greater stability and have maintained 96% of the initial PCE after 1,300 hours under solar illumination in a nitrogen atmosphere.