New record for solar cell performance signals bright future for solar tech

• Researchers at The Australian National University (ANU) have damaged their own record to develop an extra reliable solar cell.

The study, led by Dr. Jun Peng, focused on 1 cm2 solar cells made with perovskites-- a family of materials with a particular crystal structure.

Perovskite solar cells have the potential to be made much more inexpensively and just than other solar cells, along with to create more power in an offered area.

The group attained an efficiency record of 22.6 percent. This indicates the cells can convert 22.6 percent of sunlight into power.

They additionally showed a "fill element" of more than 86 percent, which is one measure of the top quality of the solar cell.

" We're constantly attempting to reach the highest performance we can. Commercialisation will not happen without high effectiveness," co-author Professor Kylie Catchpole said.

" However we require a cheap procedure as well. This is a technique that definitely combines those two aspects in a manner that's different to just how it's been accomplished previously."

The researchers say the solar cells they have actually created are easier to manufacture.

The group utilized typical manufacture strategies however applied them to a brand-new material, titanium oxynitride, to create the perovskite solar cell in an one-of-a-kind method.

" We've also had the ability to conquer a power loss in among the layers that scientists didn't previous recognize existed," Professor Catchpole said.

" The modeling we've done shows this was a constraint in previous types of solar cells."