Aerosol boost for perovskite solar cell production
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A UK startup is developing a method to improve the formation and stability of low-temperature-annealed perovskite solar cells.
Aerosolar has been awarded a £50,000 grant by Innovate UK to build a commercial-scale reactor for its process, which could enable the production of flexible perovskite solar cells for use indoors and on cars and buildings.
The company is a spin-off from Queen Mary College at the University of London and was founded in July 2022.
Perovskite materials such as methylammonium lead triiodide (MAPbI3) and formamidinium lead triiodide (FAPbI3) can be formed from a chemical solution at around 100-150 degrees C and so are much less expensive to produce than silicon solar panels. While conversion efficiencies of 25 percent have been achieved these perovskites often have large numbers of crystal dislocations and can be susceptible to decomposition in reaction to moisture and oxygen.
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Researchers are investigating an aerosol-assisted annealing process where an aerosolised solution is passed over the heated perovskite sample during the annealing process. This creates larger grains and facilitates processing at a lower temperature (100 degrees C) compared to direct thermal annealing. The aerosol solution is a mixture of dimethylformamide (DMF) and methylammonium chloride (MACl).
The treatment is also found to improve the low-light response of perovskite’s by a factor of two. This is a useful development for practical deployment as many hours in the day and many months of the year offer weak sunlight. It could also help enable in-door applications powered by artificial light.
The team is working to test the longevity of the benefits and to apply the process to commercial-scale samples.
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