Breakthrough in Mesoscopic Perovskite Solar Cells Powers Efficiency Improvement

Strategic Insights -

Research from the School of Physics at Hunan University has unveiled a groundbreaking method to enhance the performance of mesoscopic perovskite solar cells by modifying the building-up process of power conversion. According to the study published in Applied Physics Letters, prolonging the annealing period of the lead halide perovskite precursor in the mesoporous skeleton results in a significant improvement in power conversion efficiency.

Key Takeaways:

  • The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of mesoscopic perovskite solar cells improves from 10.47% to 12.42% after 120 minutes of annealing, with a corresponding decrease in the hysteresis index from 19.19% to 1.06%.
  • Increasing the carbon-electrode thickness and prolonging the annealing time further elevates the PCE up to 15.26% and extends the T80 lifetime of unsealed devices to approximately 390 hours during quasi-maximum power point tracking tests.
  • The research team observed the existence of an intermediate phase, which causes severe hysteresis, but found that it reduces with increasing annealing time.
  • The heterojunction structure evolves with annealing time, resulting in improved charge-extraction and reduced charge-recombination.
  • The study highlights the importance of understanding the building-up process of power conversion in carbon-electrode-based mesoscopic perovskite solar cells for optimal performance.

Statistics:

  • Power conversion efficiency (PCE) improvement: 1.95% (from 10.47% to 12.42%)
  • Hysteresis index improvement: 17.13% (from 19.19% to 1.06%)
  • PCE improvement with increased annealing time: up to 15.26%
  • T80 lifetime extension: approximately 390 hours for unsealed devices
  • Quasi-maximum power point tracking tests: results obtained in open air

Sources:

  • NewsRx. Findings from School of Physics Update Understanding of Applied Physics (Building-up Process of Power Conversion In Carbon-electrode-based, Hole-conductor-free Mesoscopic Perovskite Solar Cells). Journal of Physics Research. October 21, 2025; p 107.
  • Applied Physics Letters. Building-up Process of Power Conversion In Carbon-electrode-based, Hole-conductor-free Mesoscopic Perovskite Solar Cells. 2025;127(12).