According to a study performed at the University of Surrey, an original method of mass-producing affordable solar cell foundation blocks could result in an extensive adoption of solar panels that are made from perovskite ink — a so-called “miracle material.”
Image Credit: University of Surrey.
In a study reported in the Scientific Reports journal, Dr. Ehsan Rezaee, a post-doctoral fellow of the Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) at the University of Surrey, describes his research:
The objective is simply to produce solar cell building blocks out of perovskite ink. Whilst perovskite ink is not a new technology, current inks do not guarantee seamless transitions on an industrial scale, as the manufacturing process needs to be highly controlled and optimized.
Dr. Ehsan Rezaee, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Advanced Technology Institute, University of Surrey
Rezaee added, “Our perovskite ink produces a fast and reproducible way to reliably fabricate these solar cell building blocks on a mass scale, paving the way for its use in commercial markets.”
Perovskite solar cells are an affordable and lightweight solution and they could be built either stiff or flexible, creating more ways in which to transport and install in a simple manner. The new study analyzes the basic blocks of solar cells created of perovskite instead of the conventional silicon, as perovskite cells tend to harvest light via the solar spectrum’s visible part, which consists of more energy.
The University of Surrey has always believed in the potential of solar panels to be a critical research area which will, in time, allow us to move away from dangerous old energy sources.
Ravi Silva, Professor and Director, Advanced Technology Institute, University of Surrey
Silva added, “However, we must do more to improve the connection between research and production on a mass industry scale in order to see this as a future turning point, which is the purpose of our paper.”
Journal Reference:
Rezaee, E., et al. (2022) A route towards the fabrication of large-scale and high-quality perovskite films for optoelectronic devices. Scientific Reports. doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-10790-z