One of the key elements of achieving a sustainable energy supply comes by harnessing energy from the sun. In order for us to be able to benefit from this immensely powerful energy, first, it must be converted into usable electricity. The way in which this is done is through solar cells.

Most solar cells these days are made from silicon. And while silicon is very good at absorbing light, silicon panels are very costly to make. For a while now, scientists have been working on an alternative to silicon and it’s in the form of perovskite cells.





Perovskite is made up of calcium, oxygen, and titanium and solar cells made from this mineral are very effective as not only are they good at absorbing light, but they’re also much cheaper than silicon to produce. The other great thing about perovskite is that it can easily be integrated into various devices.

So now you know just how good perovskite is, you’re probably wondering why it’s not used more widely. And the answer to that is because it has one major drawback: it’s extremely unstable when exposed to heat. To try and get around this issue, scientists at The Energy Materials and Surface Sciences Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) have developed new perovskite devices that are efficient, stable, and pretty cheap to produce. Could these be the new solar cells of tomorrow?





Perovskite has many key features. Firstly, it’s inorganic, meaning it’s much more stable than those made with organic components. “The solar cells are almost unchanged after exposure to light for 300 hours,” says Dr. Zonghao Liu, one of the author’s on the study. Secondly, these cells tend to have a lower level of light absorption. So, in order to improve their performance, the researchers added manganese to the mix. This changed the whole crystal structure of the material, boosting its ability to harvest light. “Just like when you add salt to a dish to change its flavor when we add manganese, it changes the properties of the solar cell,” explains Liu.

Lastly, in perovskite cells, the electrodes used to move the current between the cells and external wires are made from carbon opposed to gold. Using carbon as a substitute means the electrodes are both easier and cheaper to make. And, they can also be printed directly on the cells themselves.

But, even with these great features on board, it still doesn’t change the fact that the life expectancy for perovskite cells is around one or two years while silicon ones can last up to 20. So until scientists can change that, it looks like we’ll be sticking with silicon for a little while longer.





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