The renewable energy sector is leveling up with an innovation in photovoltaics. Scientists have discovered a new way to work with the light emitted by crystal semiconductors to enhance the efficiency of solar cells. The development also has potential for application in electronic advancements, and it’s virtually a certainty that we’ll be hearing more about hybrid perovskites in the near future as additional research is conducted into the properties they offer.
Hybrid perovskite crystals are the next big thing in photovoltaics
Hybrid perovskite crystals consist of interwoven organic and inorganic materials that show great promise for use in solar cells. Some possible future applications include sensors, electronic displays, and other devices that are activated by light. The hybrid crystals could also boost efficiency with a reduced cost in the manufacturing of optoelectronic devices, which work by harnessing light.
When a laser is applied to perovskites, it “excites” them to a point that they emit photoluminescence. A research team from the physics and astronomy department at Rutgers University-New Brunswick in New Jersey, US, has discovered a method to control this form of light emitted by the hybrid perovskites and increase its intensity by up to 100 times by simply adjusting the voltage applied to an electrode on the surface of the crystal.
Vitaly Podzorov, a professor at Rutgers, explained his team’s discoveries:
“To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that the photoluminescence of a material has been reversibly controlled to such a wide degree with voltage. Previously, to change the intensity of photoluminescence, you had to change the temperature or apply enormous pressure to a crystal, which was cumbersome and costly. We can do it simply within a small electronic device at room temperature.”
Hybrid perovskites are ripe for development and the potential applications are exciting
When these perovskites are used as semiconductors, they display properties similar to those of both electricity-conducting metals and non-conducting insulators. The enables scientists to tune their conductivity over a wide range, which is a super quality to have in terms of virtually all modern electronics.
Podzorov highlighted the positive outcomes of years of research into semiconductors:
“All the wonderful modern electronic gadgets and technologies we enjoy today, be it a smartphone, a memory stick, powerful telecommunications and the internet, high-resolution cameras, or supercomputers, have become possible largely due to the decades of painstaking research in semiconductor physics.”
What’s the next step in the development of photoluminescent devices?
Research into photoluminescence is vital in the designing of devices used to control, generate, or detect light. These include solar cells, sensors, and LED lights. Scientists have discovered that defects in crystals reduce the emission of light and applying voltage restores photoluminescent output.
Perovskite hybrids need more attention
Podzorov says that hybrid perovskite crystals offer more efficiency and are much easier and cheaper to produce than standard commercial silicon solar cells. The Rutgers team’s study has the potential to accelerate their use and adoption in mainstream, commercialized products, he believes.
The next important step involves the investigation of different types of perovskite materials and hybrids, according to Podzorov, which should lead to upgraded materials that facilitate the controlling of photoluminescence in terms of a wider range of intensities or with smaller voltage.
Looking at a different perovskite innovation, researchers from Austria have combined solar electricity generation with flight and it’s opening up a whole new realm of possibilities. Imagine if we could deploy drones into the air that never have to come down, in theory? This may well come to pass if the recent successful testing of this new concept is anything to go by.