Developed a new method that increases the efficiency of perovskite solar cells by preventing degradation

It is becoming increasingly common to obtain energy from the sun, and scientists are focusing on improving materials and technologies used in many ways. A team working on perovskite solar cells, which is expected to be widely used in the future, has developed a new solution by finding out why these materials tend to degrade in sunlight.

‘Important step for the development of perovskite solar cells’

A team led by UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) researchers has found the main reason that perovskite solar cells degrade in sunlight over time, causing their performance to degrade over time. In addition, the team developed a method that can fix this issue.

As a result of their investigations, the researchers found that in a surface treatment carried out to correct the defects of solar cells and increase their efficiency, an organic ion layer that makes the surface too negatively charged makes perovskite solar cells less and less efficient.

Working on both correcting surface defects and providing long-term protection, the team succeeded in keeping the surface neutral by pairing positively charged ions with negatively charged ions for surface treatments.

The developed method was tested for more than 2,000 hours in an environment with 24/7 lighting. As a result of the test, 87% efficiency was achieved with the developed method, while unprocessed solar cells could offer 65% efficiency under the same conditions.

Research team states that the method they developed is an important step towards designing even more stable perovskite solar cells. By improving the current method, cheaper, lighter and more flexible solar cells can be produced in the future.