Theoretical calculation of physical properties for some new potential perovskites for solar energy conversion.

Abstract

Perovskite solar cells have shown impressive lab-scale efficiency gains in a few years. However, additional work is needed to deliver a viable PSC technology for large-scale production. Perovskites are a class of materials of enormous importance and have been proven valuable in various technologies from microelectronics to superconductors. Perovskites have only recently been demonstrated to be useful in solar applications. Solar cells made from the perovskite material studied at NREL steadily increased their efficiency at converting sunlight to electricity from 3.8% in 2009 to more than 20% today. Efficient halide perovskite based photovoltaics were first established in 2012. They are now a very promising new material for solar cells as they combine high efficiency with low materials costs. The spray-painting process wastes very little of the perovskite material and can be scaled to high volume manufacturing – similar to applying paint to cars and graphic printing. Remarkably, this class of material offers the potential to combine the high performance of mature solar cell technologies with the low embedded energy costs of production of organic photovoltaics.” While most solar cells are manufactured using energy intensive materials like silicon, perovskites, by comparison, requires much less energy to make. By spray-painting the perovskite layer in air the team hope the overall energy used to make a solar cell can be reduced further.