The Perovskite-Info newsletter (September 21, 2021)

Perosvkite solar panels have been under intensive R&D, and it seems as if commercial production is right around the corner. Some pilot-scale production lines are already functional, and companies are now ramping up production of perovskite panels, using various technologies.

UK-based Oxford PV, for example, recently announced that it has completed the build-out of its 100 MW manufacturing site in Germany, and it is on track to start full production in 2022. China's Microquanta Semiconductor perovskite panel factory is reportedly also nearing production (which should have started late 2020, but updates have not been available since), and another China-based company, GCL, has raised around $15 million USD to expand its pilot-scale production factory to mass production (100 MW).

Scientists from the Soochow University (Suzhou), the Chinese Academy of Sciences, East China Normal University (Shanghai) and Ural Federal University have developed an architecture of red-emitting perovskite LEDs (PeLEDs) that minimizes optical energy loss and significantly increases their efficiency and longevity.

The new work may open the door to high-performance LEDs for lighting devices, displays and other electronic devices. These could be energy efficient and at the same time have high brightness and long operating time.

Skoltech researchers, along with colleagues from the RAS Institute for Problems of Chemical Physics, have synthesized a new conjugated polymer for organic electronics using two different chemical reactions and shown the impact of the two methods on its performance in organic and perovskite solar cells.

Perovskite solar cells have reached impressive certified record efficiencies, but long-term stability remains an issue. Recent research has shown that device stability can be improved by covering the photoactive perovskite material with a charge-extraction layer that provides efficient encapsulation. Among other materials, this protective function may be fulfilled by conjugated polymers.

Researchers from Italy's CNR-IMM, Università del Salento, Università degli Studi di Catania and University of Bari ‘Aldo Moro’ have developed an innovative vacuum deposition method to prepare thin CH₃NH₃PbI₃ (MAPbI₃) layers for semitransparent perovskite solar cells.

Schematic of three physical deposition methods. Image from article

This new (patent pending) method to deposit thin perovskite layers for PSC under low vacuum conditions is called LV-PSE (low vacuum proximity space effusion) and can reportedly reduce costs and waste.

Researchers from Japan's Tsukuba University have found that ultraviolet light can modulate oxide ion transport in a perovskite crystal at room temperature.

The performance of battery and fuel cell electrolytes depends on the motions of electrons and ions within the electrolyte. Modulating the motion of oxide ions within the electrolyte could enhance future battery and fuel cell functionality by increasing the efficiency of the energy storage and output. Use of light to modulate the motions of ions - which expands the source of possible energy inputs - has only been demonstrated thus far for small ions such as protons. Overcoming this limitation of attainable ion motions is something the researchers in this study aimed to address.

ITMO scientists have created perovskite nanocrystals that preserve their unique optical properties in water and biological fluids. This material could offer new opportunities for the optical visualization of biological objects and promote the investigation of internal organs in living organisms and monitoring of diseases.

Nanomaterials based on halide perovskites hold great potential for use in bioimaging: perovskite nanoparticles can be potentially applied for visualization purposes in order to study biological processes in cells and living organisms. However, the main limitation that prevents their application as luminescent markers is their instability in aqueous solutions.