Efficient flexible solar cells thrive in damp environments
The Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS) has unveiled a new perovskite solar cell that remains very efficient and mechanically durable, even in moist conditions, so that the production of solar energy can be transformed by eliminating the need for controlled environments. The project was led by Dr. Dong-Chan Lim and Dr. So-Yeon Kim from the Energy and Environment Materials Research Division.
Perovskite materials offer strong potential as alternatives to silicon because of their low costs and flexibility. However, their sensitivity to moisture and limited mechanical durability has impeded commercialization, which requires expensive low-humidity or inert gas production conditions.
To overcome these problems, the KIMS team developed a defect-passion method that the Perovskiet-Light-Absorbend layer between two-dimensional perovskiet films sandwiches sandwiches. This architecture yielded flexible solar cells that can work stably up to 50% relative humidity. These devices retained more than 85% of their original efficiency after 2,800 hours of continuous use and 96% after 10,000 bending cycles. In stress tests of shears, they maintained 87% efficiency, which emphasized their mechanical resilience.
The research eliminates the need for expensive cleanroom environments, so that the production costs are considerably reduced. The technology is scalable and has already been applied to production lines with a large area, which signals the readyness for industrial rollout. This progress is expected to stimulate the development of portable electronics, rollable solar panels and solar energy integrated vehicle systems.
“With this technology it is now possible to produce very efficient perovskite solar cells in ambient air without expensive equipment, which considerably lowers production costs,” Dr. Lim. “In particular, the exceptional sustainability of the flexible devices makes promising candidates for applications in portable electronics and vehicle integrated solar energy systems.”
The project was funded by the National Research Council of Science and Technology (NST), the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) and the Suraflexi Joint Research Program with Switzerland. Cooperating institutions were the University of Friborg, Pusan National University and Pukyong National University. The study was published on 31 May in the Chemical Engineering Journal.
