Researcher make commercially viable 24.5% efficient perovskite solar PV cells

In an effort to make perovskite solar PV cell with conversion efficiency of 24.5%, chemical and biomolecular engineer Aditya Mohite and others at Rice University designed a chemical solvent to apply on a 2D top layer of desired composition and thickness without destroying the 3D bottom layer and also vice versa. This process ensures higher conversion efficiency as well as higher stability. Researchers claim their work can lead to commercialisation of efficient and stable bilayer perovskite solar photovoltaic cells. These PV cells measure one micron in thickness. “This is really good for flexible, bifacial cells where light comes in from both sides and also for back-contacted cells,” Aditya Mohite said. “The 2D perovskites absorb blue and visible photons, and the 3D side absorbs near-infrared.” Though crystal, cubelike-lattice perovskite material good as converting light into flow of electrons, but this material can be stressed by light, humidity and heat. Mohite and team of his colleagues in this project have worked for years to make perovskite solar cells to last longer and efficient. “This is significant at multiple levels,” Mohite said. “One is that it’s fundamentally challenging to make a solution-processed bilayer when both layers are the same material. The problem is they both dissolve in the same solvents." Another applied physics researcher Andrew Torm...