Russian scientists have created efficient and compact perovskite solar cells

Russian scientists have developed a miniature photoelectric module based on perovskite to power low-power electronics. This was reported by the press service of NUST MISIS, where the development was created.
Perovskite solar cells are considered one of the most promising areas of solar energy. They are cheaper than their silicon counterparts, more flexible, and can be produced in thin film form. Due to this, they can cover almost any surface, including the walls of buildings and car bodies. At the same time, the efficiency of such elements is approximately equal to those of silicon analogs (about 25%), but for a long time engineers could not solve the problem of perovskite degradation – this material is destroyed by chemical interaction with the underlying charge-transport layers.
Scientists from the University of Science and Technology MISIS found that the use of chlorine alloying additives in the composition of a perovskite thin film leads not only to an increase in instrument characteristics – achieving an efficiency of 20.1%, but also increases the durability of work for 3500 hours, which corresponds to the world level. The result was also confirmed when the samples were scaled up to industrial prototypes measuring 25 square centimeters.
“If we consider only the photoactive perovskite layer, then the introduction of chlorine does not lead to stabilization of the structure of thin films when exposed to degradation factors. However, the use of doped layers in the solar cell architecture significantly extends the lifetime under high intensity light and heat. Thus, a metastable state of the device is achieved, in which electrochemical corrosion processes occur, but their dynamics is significantly reduced,” explained Danila Saranin, one of the authors of the work.
Further research showed that based on the created technology, it is possible to produce not only laboratory prototypes, but also operating samples that can be used to power low-power electronics such as watches or wearable sensors.
Previously, scientists calculated how many calories a person spends on cleaning the kitchen.