Printing Perovskite Solar Cells: Reducing Toxicity and Improving Scalability

Started

Renewable Energy Sources(Solar Energy, Photovoltaics)

Basic and strategic applied research

PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Metallurgy and Materials)
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering)

Not Cross-cutting

Dr A Hughes
Mech, Materials & Aerospace Engineerin
University of Liverpool

Standard

EPSRC

30 June 2024

29 June 2026

24 months

£286,473

Energy

North West

Energy and Decarbonisation

Dr A Hughes, Mech, Materials & Aerospace Engineerin, University of Liverpool

Dr L Phillips, Physics, University of Liverpool

Project Contact, Solar Capture Technologies Limited
Project Contact, The Manufacturing Technology Centre Ltd

Perovskite solar cells are one of the newest and most exciting materials in the world of solar cell research. In little over 10 years their lab scale efficiencies have advanced from 8% to over 25%, putting them on a par with market leading silicon solar cells. However, after a decade's worth of interest and investment, this potentially revolutionary solar cell has not made it on to the market yet. There are several important barriers to commercialisation for perovskites, principally:1. Issues with stability of perovskite materials,2. Concerns around the use of toxic element such as lead, and,3. Issues in transitioning to scalable manufacturing processes.In order to overcome these barriers, we propose a more holistic approach to design and fabrication of perovskite solar cells, which considers both toxicity and scalability, as well electrical efficiency during the optimisation process. The aim of this project to develop safe, stable and printable perovskite solar inks. This will be achieved by developing tin-based perovskite solar cells and exploring the use of ionic liquids in the solvent system to create a stable non-toxic ink that can be used in an inkjet printer. Ionic liquids are an impressive new solvent option for perovskite processing, exhibiting many favourable properties, such as solubility, low toxicity and stability. Most promising of all is the tunability of their viscosity, a key parameter in ink formulation for printing and thin film processing, which is yet to be explored. The goal is to fully print a tin-based perovskite solar cell in atmospheric conditions. This will be a revolutionary solar cell product that contains no harmful materials, is more easily recyclable and can be fabricated at lower costs

11/07/24