A single molecule increases the exit and stability of the solar module
A new molecule developed by international cooperation has been shown that it significantly improves both the performance and the sustainability of Perovskiet solar cells, according to a recent study published in *Science *. The discovery focuses on a synthetic ionic salt called CPMAC, which comes from Buckminsterfullerene (C60) and has been shown to surpass the traditional C60 in solar applications.
Researchers from the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Kaust) played a key role in the development of CPMAC. Although C60 has long been used in perovskite solar cells because of its favorable electronic properties, it suffers from stability problems caused by weak Van der Waals interactions on the interface with the perovskiet layer. CPMAC is designed to tackle these shortcomings.
“For more than ten years, C60 has been an integral part of the development of Perovskiet sun cells. However, weak interactions in the perovskiet/C60 interface lead to mechanical demolition that endangers the long-term solar cellability. Osman Bakr, executive faculty of the Kaust Center of Excellence).
In contrast to C60, CPMAC is ionic bonds with the perovskiet material, which enhances the electron transfer layer and therefore improves both structural stability and energy output. Cells with CPMAC showed a 0.6% improvement in the power conversion -efficiency (PCE) compared to those using C60.
Although the profit appears to be modest in efficiency, the impact is dramatically incurred in Real-World energy production. “When we are dealing with the scale of a typical power plant, the extra electricity that is even generated from a fraction of a percentage point is quite significant,” says Hongwei Zhu, a research scientist at Kaust.
In addition to the efficiency gain, CPMAC also improved the life of the device. Under accelerated aging tests with high heat and humidity for 2,000 hours, solar cells that contained CPMAC retained a considerably higher part of their efficiency. In particular, their demolition was a third party that was observed in cells with the help of conventional C60.
Further performance evaluation included compiling the cells in four-cell modules and offer a closer approach to solar panels on a commercial scale. These tests strengthened the benefit of the molecule in both sustainability and output.
The key to the success of CPMAC lies in its capacity to reduce defects within the electron transfer layer, thanks to the formation of robust ionic bindings. This approach circumvents the limitations of Van der Waals Forces that are typical of unchanged C60 structures.
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