Small size, high energy additives improve film performance

[China Packaging Network News] KAUST's research team has found that when a simple chemical substance such as glycol ether is incorporated into a film-forming mixture, the film used in solar cells performs better.

This is an unexpected new discovery. It produces a more uniform film while allowing the film to have an improved structure and increased efficiency. Dr. Esma Ugur of KAUST solar energy center said.

Perovskites are materials having the same crystal structure as naturally occurring perovskite oxides. Various metal halide perovskites have proved to be very valuable for collecting light energy, which can be used to generate electricity (this is the standard working principle of solar cells). On top of traditional solar cells, perovskites can be combined as a thin layer because they can absorb blue wavelengths of light to match the energy of the red wavelengths captured by conventional materials.

Esma Ugur said: “Our goal is to improve the quality of perovskite films. The team decided to add glycol ethers to the manufacturing process because they knew that these chemicals had long been found to contribute to the formation of metal oxide layers.

By experimenting with mixtures of various glycol ethers and changing processing conditions, the researchers eventually gained superior control of the formed perovskite film by significantly enhancing the structure and arrangement of the perovskite particles. This improves the reproducibility and efficiency of perovskites, making them more efficient for solar cell applications.

The program can also work at lower temperatures than alternatives, which is an important factor for cost-effectiveness.

So far, the team has only created a small laboratory-scale device. Frédéric Laquai, who leads KAUST solar energy center team, said that the following main challenge is how to develop it to adapt to commercial applications. To achieve this, they will need to explore ways to solve the perovskite instability they developed.

Frédéric Laquai said: “We have several teams at KAUST solar energy center that are working hard to solve this problem and at the same time to meet the needs of other future business developments. He emphasized that perovskite is the high priority research area of ​​the center and its future can be The field of application will not be limited to solar cells.He said: "Perovskites have many interesting optical and electronic properties, which may make them useful for applications that we have never imagined. Frédéric Laquai also emphasized the cooperative nature of the KAUST solar energy center project. He has learned the expertise of experts in various fields as a key factor to increase success.