Australian researchers set Perovskite efficiency record

The team, led by Anita Ho-Baillie, Senior Research Fellow at the Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics (ACAP) demonstrated an efficiency rating of 12.1 per cent on a 16cm² perovskite solar cell. The results, verified by international testing centre Newport Corp, represent the highest efficiency rating with the largest perovskite solar cells to date.

Perovskite is a structured compound, where a hybrid organic-inorganic lead or tin halide-based material acts as the light-harvesting active layer. They are the fastest-advancing solar technology to date, and are attractive because the compound is cheap to produce and simple to manufacture, and can even be sprayed onto surfaces.

To make perovskite solar cells, engineers grow crystals into a structure known as ‘perovskite’, named after Lev Perovski, the Russian mineralogist who discovered it. They first dissolve a selection of compounds in a liquid to make the ‘ink’, and then deposit this on a specialised glass that can conduct electricity. When the ink dries, it leaves behind a thin film that crystallises on top of the glass when mild heat is applied, resulting in a thin layer of perovskite crystals.