'New generation' of much more reliable perovskite solar cells feasible because of halogen bonding

• The chemical process of halogen bonding has "considerable potential for the advancement of a new generation of solar cells based upon perovskites", according to scientists at the Polytechnic University of Milan.

The intermolecular communication entailing halogen atoms in organic molecules, known as halogen bonding, can help boost the performance of perovskite-based solar cells, enabling them to accomplish high levels of performance and high stability, the academics claimed.

Released in scientific journal Angewandte Chemie International, the term paper suggested making use of halogen bonding provides "significant benefits for the advancement of solar cells with better crystallinity and greater stability".

Halogen bonding "allows fluorinated molecules to be presented", said the researchers, which passivate the surface halides to create hydrophobic and water-repellent perovskites. "In this way, trap states are obstructed as well as effectiveness is boosted.

"Additionally, the surface area alteration of perovskite with bifunctional molecules capable of forming halogen bonds allows much better integration of the perovskite within the solar cell, assisting in the generation of electric current," the researchers suggested.

In November, scientists from the University of Cambridge said they had "unlocked the mystery" behind perovskite's noticeable resistance of issues, with "potentially huge effects for the future performance of solar PV modules".

Overt the last decade, perovskite has been promoted as an appealing alternative to silicon based solar modules given the lead salts needed to make them are abundant and also cheap and also they can be made in a liquid ink that is published to generate a film of the product.

Therefore, several in the solar field are assessing the potential application of perovskite products to surpass the performance of silicon-based modules, with the US Department of Energy financing study right into the advancement of perovskites and firms such as Toshiba discovering just how to obtain one of the most out of the material.

And also in February, Saudi researchers reported the "the first ever" successful damp-heat test of perovskite solar cells, which they said relocates the technology closer towards commercial viability after it withstood 1,000 hrs of extreme problems and kept a 95% effectiveness.