A new type of material for one of the solar cells was proposed by specialists from the Ural Federal University (UrFU) and the Institute of Organic Synthesis of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences together with their colleagues The compounds found will significantly reduce the production cost of solar cells. The article was published in the New Journal of Chemistry.
Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are a promising alternative to familiar silicon cells, providing the same amount of energy with 180 times less material thickness. Its production technology is much simpler and cheaper than that of silicon cells. The problem with PSCs is their lack of stability. One of the most effective solutions at present, the specialists explained, is the selection of new materials that ensure the transport of charge carriers after obtaining them in the perovskite layer itself.
Scientists from UrFU and UB RAS have proposed a new type of material for the transport of electrons in PSCs, which has a number of advantages. According to the authors, with the new material they were able to achieve a solar energy conversion efficiency of 12%, which is comparable to the average performance of counterparts on the market.
“The family of molecules we found transport electrons in PSCs slightly worse than currently used fullerenes, but are about twice as cheap, much easier to produce and have a number of other technological advantages,” says Gennady Rusinov , associate professor of the Department of Organic Synthesis Technology at UrFU.
Although fullerenes are the most sought-after electron transport material for PSCs, according to scientists, they have problems of morphological stability and low light absorption, as well as great difficulty in modifying electronic properties. The costs of synthesis and purification of fullerenes in some cases make their application economically inefficient.
“Our molecules are devoid of the main drawbacks of fullerenes, and their synthesis is very simple, even in large quantities. The optical, electrochemical and electronic properties of our molecules are easily modified. In addition, they are dipoles, which which opens up a number of possibilities for improving PSCs,” said Gennady Rusinov.
Researchers from the Ural Federal University and the Cosmophysical Research Institute of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences proposed a comprehensive synthesis technique for the new molecules and also studied their thermal stability, electronic properties and optics.
It should be noted that the research was carried out jointly with scientists from the IMET UB RAS, IPC RAS and NITU “MISIS”. In the future, the research team intends to continue searching for new materials for solar cells.
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