The Perovskite-Info newsletter

A research team from Brown University has reported a major step toward improving the long-term reliability of perovskite solar cells. In the new study, the team demonstrated a “molecular glue” that keeps a key interface inside cells from degrading. The treatment dramatically increases cells’ stability and reliability over time, while also improving the efficiency with which they convert sunlight into electricity.

“There have been great strides in increasing the power-conversion efficiency of perovskite solar cells,” said Nitin Padture, a professor of engineering at Brown University and senior author of the new research. “But the final hurdle to be cleared before the technology can be widely available is reliability — making cells that maintain their performance over time. That’s one of the things my research group has been working on, and we’re happy to report some important progress.”

The Graphene Flagship, a $1 billion European graphene initiative, has launched a new Spearhead Project called GRAPES, that aims to make cost-effective, stable graphene-enabled perovskite solar panels.

The project will set out to play an essential role in improving Europe's uptake of solar energy projects by improving the stability and efficiency of this technology when deployed on a large scale. As a European Commission funded project, the Graphene Flagship GRAPES initiative has been established to help Europe meet its ambitious sustainability goals.

Australian researchers from the School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering and the ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science, both based at UNSW in Sydney, have reported that singlet fission and tandem solar cells – two innovative ways to generate solar power more efficiently – also help to lower operating temperatures and keep devices running for longer.

Tandem cells can be made from a combination of silicon – the most commonly used photovoltaics material – and new compounds like perovskite nanocrystals, which can have a larger bandgap than silicon and help the device to capture more of the solar spectrum for energy generation. Singlet fission is a technique that produces twice the electronic charge carriers than normal for each photon of light that’s absorbed. Tetracene is used in these devices to transfer the energy generated by singlet fission into silicon.