Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have found that it may be possible to boost energy conversion rates perovskite-based solar modules by as much as 40%.

Using an atomic microscope, the researchers observed multifaceted surfaces in perovskite solar cells. Some of the grains, which were about 200 microns in width, had sharply formed multi-angled facets, while others were poorly formed. The poorly formed facets had energy conversion efficiencies approaching 31%, which beats today's most optimistic photovoltaic efficiency rates of around 22%.

Researchers at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have fabricated high-performance green light-emitting diodes based on colloidal organometal perovskite nanoparticles. The devices have a maximum luminous efficiency of 11.49 cd/A, a power efficiency of 7.84 lm/W and an external quantum efficiency of 3.8%. This value is said to be about 3.5 times higher than that of the best colloidal perovskite quantum-dot-based LEDs previously made.

The team developed a simple way to make a series of colloidal (CH3NH3)PbX3 nanoparticles with an amorphous structure that can be tuned to emit light in the ultraviolet to near-infrared range. They studied the photoluminescence properties of the nanoparticles and found that the PLQE of the perovskite NP film is much higher than that of the bulk film. They then made the highly efficient green LED.

Researchers from Los Alamos National Laboratory, Rice University and Northwestern University have been working on modifying perovskites' manufacturing technique and producing a new variety of 2D layered perovskite with exceptional strength and increased power transformation capability.

Three types of large-area solar cells made out of two-dimensional perovskites. At left, a room-temperature cast film; upper middle is a sample with the problematic band gap, and at right is the hot-cast sample with the best energy performance.

Using a spin-casting technique, the team managed to create layered crystals whose electrons flow vertically down the material without being blocked, midlayer, by organic cations. The researchers stated that “the new 2D perovskite is both more efficient and more stable, both under constant lighting and in exposure to the air, than the existing 3D organic-inorganic crystals”.