Penn State Scientists Develop New, Faster Perovskite Fabrication Method for Solar Cells

• Penn State scientists use a new process called EM-FAST to create large perovskite devices in minutes, allowing for more efficient and cost-effective fabrication of next-generation solar cells.

What happened?

Penn State scientists have developed a new process for creating large perovskite devices using a sintering method called EM-FAST, which involves applying electric current and pressure to powders to create new materials. This technique produced perovskite materials at 0.2 inch per minute, allowing scientists to create large devices quickly, maintaining high performance in laboratory tests. The approach is more cost- and time-effective than traditional methods, potentially accelerating future materials discovery, as stated by Luyao Zheng, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Materials Science at Penn State and lead author on the study.

Why does it matter?

Perovskites, a family of materials with unique electrical properties, show promise for use in a variety of fields, including next-generation solar cells. A typical process for making perovskites involves wet chemistry, which is expensive and inefficient for creating large perovskites, and the solvents used may be toxic. The new EM-FAST technique uses dry materials and opens the door to new dopants that are not compatible with wet chemistry, potentially accelerating the discovery of new materials. Furthermore, the approach allows for layered materials to create designer compositions, which could directly print specific devices from dry powders, as the scientists explain.

What's next?

According to Amin Nozariasbmarz, assistant research professor at Penn State and a co-author, "this opens up possibilities to design and develop new classes of materials, including better thermoelectric and solar materials, as well as X- and γ-ray detectors." Additionally, the team anticipates that EM-FAST perovskite will open up another dimension for high throughput material synthesis, future manufacturing, and accelerating the material discovery of new perovskite compositions. This work represents the first attempt to create perovskite materials with EM-FAST, and it could lead to new breakthroughs in materials discovery and new properties, as stated by Nozariasbmarz.