Engineers have succeeded in producing solar cells potentially beneficial to the environment

Using vacuum deposition apparatus, a technique for creating organic light-emitting displays, a UNIST research team led by Professor Hyesung Park produced perovskite solar cells (PSCs) that have the potential to be highly efficient, stable and scalable (OLED).

According to the research team, such a strategy is also beneficial for mass manufacturing of batteries, which should further accelerate the commercialization of PSCs.

Breakthrough in solar technology

(Photo: IVAN PISARENKO/AFP via Getty Images)

The amount of sunlight that hits the earth’s surface in an hour and a half is enough to power the entire planet for a year, according to the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

Solar technologies use photovoltaic (PV) panels or mirrors to concentrate solar radiation to convert sunlight into electrical energy. This energy can be converted into electricity or stored in batteries or thermal storage.

Solar radiation is the light emitted by the sun, also called electromagnetic radiation.

While every point on Earth receives some sunlight over the course of a year, the amount of solar energy that reaches a particular area of ​​the Earth’s surface fluctuates.

Solar technologies absorb this radiation and convert it into usable energy.

The research team used a vacuum-treated Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) phase perovskite passivation layer to produce highly efficient and stable PSCs, in accordance with ScienceDaily.

The study team was able to create a highly ordered 2D perovskite passivation layer by carefully regulating the rate at which the RP-phase perovskite was deposited, which in turn affected its crystallographic orientation. J

The 2D perovskite layer improved the charge transport efficiency of PSC while passivating bulk perovskite defects.

As a result, BABr(V) inverted PSC produced a device with exceptional humidity and heat stability and a champion PCE of 21.4%.

This quantity is unquestionably the highest ever achieved for PSCs formed by vacuum deposition.

Additionally, it demonstrated improved long-term operational stability, retaining 62% of its initial PCE (average) even without device encapsulation after operating for 1,000 hours at 60-70% relative humidity at room temperature.

According to the research team, non-radiative recombination pathways in perovskites can be reduced to further improve the performance of PSCs.

The Basic Science Research Program of the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), which is funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT, funded this study (MSIT).

Read more: Solar energy created with shrimp shells?

A clean source of energy is solar

The sun produces more than enough energy to meet the world’s energy needs and, unlike fossil fuels, it won’t run out anytime soon, according to fortune.

The only constraint to solar energy as a renewable energy source is our ability to convert it to electricity efficiently and cost-effectively.

When you generate electricity with solar panels, no greenhouse gas emissions are released into the atmosphere.

Solar energy is a key energy source in the transition to creating clean energy since the sun produces more energy than humans could ever need.

Once the solar panels are deployed, maintenance expenses are quite minimal compared to those associated with conventional methods of generating electricity.

Solar power does not require fuel, so it can generate large amounts of electricity without the risk and price of securing a fuel supply.

Solar energy has a much lower environmental impact than other forms of electricity generation since it is a renewable source of CO2-free energy.

The impact is primarily related to the supply and manufacture of the unique metals and materials needed to manufacture the solar panels.

The ecosystem is also impacted by the location and the water used to clean the solar panels. We put a lot of effort into finding new cleaning methods for our solar panels.

Related article: Solar power at night is already possible after scientists developed this new device