KarunaNews Story

An international team led by UCL researchers used a material called perovskite which is increasingly used in outdoor solar panels and has potential to be used indoors as well. A major drawback of perovskite, however, is that it contains tiny defects in its crystal structure which can cause electrons to get stuck before their energy can be harnessed. These defects not only interrupt the flow of electricity but also contribute to the material’s degradation over time. In a study published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials, the team describes how they used a combination of chemicals to reduce these defects, potentially making perovskite indoor solar panels viable. The perovskite photovoltaics they engineered, the team say, are about six times more efficient than the best commercially available indoor solar cells. They could be used for an estimated five years or more, rather than just a few weeks or months. “Currently, solar cells capturing energy from indoor light are expensive and inefficient. Our specially engineered perovskite indoor solar cells can harvest much more energy than commercial cells and is more durable than other prototypes. It paves the way for electronics powered by the ambient light already present in our lives,” said Dr. Mojtaba Abdi Jalebi.