The Perovskite-Info newsletter (September 7, 2021)

Scientists at EPFL and their collaborators have developed a simple and low-cost perovskite-based device that detects neutrons. The perovskite materials used in the study are based on lead and bromine. Both contain single crystals of a compound called methylammonium lead tri-bromide.

The team first placed these crystals in the path of a neutron source. The neutrons, hitting the crystals, penetrate the nucleus of the atoms within the crystal, exciting them into a higher energy state. When they relax and decay, gamma rays are created. These gamma photons charge the perovskite, delivering a tiny current that can be estimated.

Researchers from Sungkyunkwan University and Pusan National University recently succeeded in complementing an intrinsic defect of a perovskite solar cell’s absorber layer by adding a virus. The team showed that the efficiency of photoelectric transformation improved by using a virus rather than a chemical compound as solar cell thin film.

Solar cells based on perovskites as an absorber layer usually require the addition of a chemical compound due to intrinsic defects of perovskite crystal. Perovskite solar cells are limited as the process of adding chemical compounds is expensive and the purity of the generated material is low.