Tag Archives: perovskite

These Solar Panels Also Turn Rain Into Electricity

Solar panels on grass

Researchers at the Institute of Materials Science of Seville have used a perovskite-based solar panel that can create electricity from the rain. They created a nanometer-thin film that covers the panel and when drops hit the panel it causes a tiny amount electricity to be produced. As a bonus the film provides protection to the panel, which the perovskite panels needs since the material is more fragile than your standard solar cell.

A decade ago we looked at perovskite , and it’s really neat to see this technology continue to improve.

This extremely thin film plays a dual role. First, it acts as an encapsulant that protects the perovskite cells’ chemistry while also increasing their light absorption. In addition to this, the layer acts like a triboelectric surface – one that can convert kinetic energy into electrical energy.
In experiments conducted at the ICMS facility, the researchers found that a single raindrop could generate a potential difference of 110 V, sufficient to power a small portable device.
“Our work proposes an advanced solution that combines perovskite solar cell photovoltaic technology with triboelectric nanogenerators in a thin-film configuration, thus demonstrating the feasibility of implementing both energy harvesting systems,” said Carmen Lopez, a researcher at ICMS, who was involved in the work in the press release.

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Thanks to Mike!

New Solar Cell Technology, Perovskite, Shows Promise

Solar power is getting cheaper every year and that trend seems to never end. Now there’s a new (and maybe even cheaper) technology for solar energy generation. The reason this new approach of using perovskite solar cells is important is that it permits the easy implementation of solar technology into area previously considered impractical.

First created in 2012, perovskite solar cells have shown great promise in recent years as an affordable alternative to other solar technologies, such as photovoltaic cells typically used in solar panels. Now scientists from Wake Forest University and the University of Utah have described the very first example of field-effect modulation in perovskites (i.e. their use in transistors), with potentially far-reaching implications.

Until now, researchers have been unable to fabricate field-effect transistors to measure the charge transport of the materials. Necessary prerequisites for a material that forms an efficient solar cell are strong optical absorption and efficient charge carrier transport. With these first generation transistors, researchers from Wake Forest and Utah were able for the first time to directly measure the ability of hybrid perovskites to transport charge, widening the spectrum of possible applications of these materials.

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