A New Way to Produce More Efficient Solar Cells
There has been a wall hit when it comes to the improvement of solar cell efficiency, and this is despite the fact that a great deal of detailed research has taken place.
There has been a wall hit when it comes to the improvement of solar cell efficiency, and this is despite the fact that a great deal of detailed research has taken place. As it seems that the end of the road has been reached, Spiro-OMeTAD may soon be replaced by an alternative can be found.
According to Science Advances, it seems that there is still life in Spiro-OMeTAD and scientists have managed to grow a single crystal of it and have made an amazing discovery. When shown as glass, the hole mobility is three orders of magnitude better than when it is formed as a thin film. This is the way it is being used in solar cells. Osman Bakr at King Abdullah University believes this is a breakthrough for perovskite by showing its potential, and the search for an alternative can be put on hold.
Schematic diagram of the crystallisation process.
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New studies show that be adding an antisolvent to dissolved Spiro-OMeTAD, the vapour rises, and eventually the solution crystallizes. The results have been better than expected, and while it is being carried out on a small scale, there are hopes that further research will allow more efficient solar cells to be produced.
Although Spiro-OMeTAD has played a larger role in cells, the crystal structure is a discovery. Once scientists understood the molecular packing, they were able to move on to its electronic structure and map its charge hopping pathways. It has been an important discovery when it comes to solar cell engineering.
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Helena Marsh
Helena Marsh is the Editor-in-Chief at TrendinTech, where she leads editorial strategy and oversees coverage across artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and enterprise technology. With more than a decade in technology journalism on both sides of the Atlantic, she previously served as a senior editor at Wired UK and covered the technology sector for The Guardian, following the rise of the big platforms, the Cambridge Analytica scandal and the regulatory push from Brussels and Washington. Helena holds an MA in Journalism from City, University of London and is a regular speaker at Web Summit in Lisbon and CES in Las Vegas. She believes technology reporting should be rigorous and plainly written, so readers understand what actually changes for them rather than what a company's announcement promises.
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