Perovskite solar cells: International consensus on ageing measurement protocols

© Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

Experts from 51 research institutions have now agreed on the procedures for measuring the stability of perovskite solar cells and assessing their quality. The consensus statement was published in Nature Energy and is considered a milestone for the further development of this new type of solar cell on its way to industrial application.

Commercially available solar modules undergo a series of characterisation procedures that analyse their properties and ensure quality. However, these methods cannot simply be transferred to halide perovskite solar cells. Halide perovskites are hybrid inorganic-organic materials for a new generation of solar cells, which have only been investigated for about eleven years. Perovskite solar cells achieve very high efficiencies and can be processed very cost-effectively from solution as extremely thin layers. However, perovskite-based solar cells are not yet stable enough to be commercialised.

Consensus on protocols

Now, international experts from 51 research institutes under the leadership of Prof. Mónica Lira-Cantú (Institut Catala de Nanosciencia i Nanotechnologia) and Prof. Eugene A. Katz (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev) have agreed on the ageing protocols suitable for this class of materials. From the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, Prof. Antonio Abate and his PhD student Hans Köbler were involved. The first author of the study, Dr. Mark Khenkin, is now also working as a postdoc at the HZB Institute PVcomB. Eugene Katz will soon complete a longer research stay at HZB. The consensus statement extends the ISOS protocols developed in 2011 for organic solar cells for the stability assessment of perovskite photovoltaics by further tests and parameters. The test procedures are tailored to the specific characteristics of perovskite solar cells and can thus also map their special properties.

Step forward to industrialisation

In particular, the consensus allows for better comparability of ageing data between international laboratories and thus promotes meaningful analyses of degradation processes. A checklist for reporting the results should further improve reproducibility. This is a major milestone on the way from the laboratory to industry, writes Nature Energy in an editorial to the publication, which has now even been highlighted by the European Commission.

The consensus statement is published in Nature Energy 2020: "Consensus statement for stability assessment and reporting for perovskite photovoltaics based on ISOS procedures".

DOI: 10.1038/s41560-019-0529-5

Editorial in Nature (2020): "Perovskites take steps to industrialization"

Highlight EU Science Hub: "Perovskite PV technology approaches industrialisation as researchers reach consensus on procedures for testing it"

arö


You might also be interested in

  • Small powerhouses for very special light
    Science Highlight
    27.06.2024
    Small powerhouses for very special light
    An international team presents the functional principle of a new source of synchrotron radiation in Nature Communications Physics. Steady-state microbunching (SSMB) allows to build efficient and powerful radiation sources for coherent UV radiation in the future. This is very attractive for applications in basic research as well in the semiconductor industry.
  • New Method for Absorption Correction to Improve Dental Fillings
    Science Highlight
    24.06.2024
    New Method for Absorption Correction to Improve Dental Fillings
    A research team led by Dr. Ioanna Mantouvalou has developed a method to more accurately depict the elemental distributions in dental materials than previously possible. The used confocal micro-X-ray fluorescence (micro-XRF) analysis provides three-dimensional elemental images that contain distortions. These distortions occur when X-rays pass through materials of different densities and compositions. By utilizing micro-CT data, which provides detailed 3D images of the material structure, and chemical information from X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) experiments conducted in the laboratory (BLiX, TU Berlin) and at the synchrotron light source BESSY II, the researchers have improved the method.
  • MXenes for energy storage: Chemical imaging more than just surface deep
    Science Highlight
    17.06.2024
    MXenes for energy storage: Chemical imaging more than just surface deep
    A new method in spectromicroscopy significantly improves the study of chemical reactions at the nanoscale, both on surfaces and inside layered materials. Scanning X-ray microscopy (SXM) at MAXYMUS beamline of BESSY II enables the investigation of chemical species adsorbed on the top layer (surface) or intercalated within the MXene electrode (bulk) with high chemical sensitivity. The method was developed by a HZB team led by Dr. Tristan Petit. The scientists demonstrated among others first SXM on MXene flakes, a material used as electrode in lithium-ion batteries.