Malleable Carbon Playdough for Efficient Perovskite Solar Cells

• Researchers in China have developed a graphite putty for use in perovskite solar devices - malleable, cost-effective and environmentally sustainable with impressive efficiencies of up to 20.29%.

Researchers from China have developed a novel playdough-like graphite putty as a top electrode for perovskite solar devices. This malleable material is able to form good contact with the hole-transporting layer and the conductive substrate at room temperature and can be used to fabricate both small-area devices and perovskite solar modules. Experiments show that small devices and modules using this material can achieve efficiencies of 20.29% (∼0.15 cm2) and 16.01% (∼10 cm2), respectively.

The advantages of the playdough-like graphite material and its process method are low material cost, environmental sustainability, simple process, and easy scalability. However, its optical reflection and module conductivity are lower than that of Au electrode. Despite this, the material is highly promising for the industrialization of carbon-based perovskite solar cells.

What Are the Benefits of Using a Playdough-like Graphite Material for Perovskite Solar Cells?

• Low material cost
• Environmentally sustainable
• Simple process
• Easy scalability
• High efficiency (20.29%)
• Ability to fabricate small-area devices
• Ability to fabricate perovskite solar modules (16.01% efficiency)
• Low optical reflection
• Low module conductivity than Au electrode