Researchers from the University of North Carolina have devised a method to rapidly produce large perovskite films for solar cells. The new approach, which combines the right amounts of volatile and less volatile solvents in a blade-coating process, could be an important step towards the commercialization of perovskite solar cells.

The blading process can create perovskite films rapidly to produce much larger devices than ever before. Image source: Yehao Deng et al/Science/AAAS

Although rapid deposition of large-area perovskite films under ambient conditions is an important goal in photovoltaics, rapid crystallization at low temperatures generally results in poor quality films that are not suitable for solar cell applications, so a slow growth and/or high temperatures are commonly used. The new method allows for the deposition of large-area, high-quality perovskite films at 99 mm/s under mild conditions. "We designed a general solvent mixing so that one can blade-coat continuous, large grain and compact perovskite films at unprecedented speed at room temperature in air" says team leader Jinsong Huang of the University of North Carolina.

Researchers at the University of Central Florida used Machine Learning (artificial intelligence) to optimize the materials used to make perovskite solar cells (PSC). Perovskites can be difficult to make as a usable and stable material for solar cells. Scientists have been trying to find just the right recipe to make them with all the benefits, and that's where artificial intelligence might come in for the rescue.

The team reviewed more than 2,000 peer-reviewed publications about perovskites and collected more than 300 data points then fed into the AI system they created. The system was able to analyze the information and predict which perovskites recipe would work best.

Researchers from Queen Mary University of London, University College London and Italy's CNR have developed new thermoelectric materials, which could provide a low-cost option for converting heat energy into electricity.

Halide perovskites have been proposed as affordable alternatives to existing thermoelectric materials, however so far research into their suitability for thermoelectric applications has been limited. In this study, the team conducted a series of experiments on thin films of the halide perovskite, caesium tin iodide, to test its ability to create electrical current from heat.