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Researchers have developed a hybrid perovskite solar cell capable of generating electricity from both sunlight and raindrops, according to a report from pv magazine. The cell combines photovoltaic and triboelectric effects to harvest energy from two different environmental sources.
The device was created by a team at the Institute of Materials Science and Technology in Seville. The perovskite component converts solar radiation into electricity, while a separate mechanism transforms the impact of raindrops into electrical power using the triboelectric effect. This effect generates an electrical charge when two different materials, such as a water droplet and a polymer surface, make contact and then separate.
A key component is a specialized fluorinated polymer layer, referred to as a CFx layer. This layer serves multiple functions: it protects the underlying perovskite material from moisture, increases surface hydrophobicity, and possesses triboelectric properties. Critically, the layer maintains high optical transparency, reported at over 90%, to avoid interfering with light absorption for solar power generation.
The coating is applied at room temperature using a vacuum plasma process. In tests, this coating left the solar cell’s performance virtually unchanged, with the best cells achieving an efficiency of 17.9%. For the raindrop energy harvesting function, an optimized version of the CFx layer generated open-circuit voltages up to 110 volts and a maximum power density of approximately four milliwatts per square meter.
In a combined hybrid operation, the system produced a short-circuit current density of 11.6 milliamperes per square meter under a specific illumination condition. Voltage peaks of up to 12 volts per impacting water droplet were recorded. A laboratory demonstrator used the hybrid cell to charge a supercapacitor, which then powered a red LED strip continuously with the aid of a boost converter. The solar cell primarily determines the charging speed, with the triboelectric generator providing supplementary power.
The research was funded through European grants, including the 3DScavengers project and the Drop Ener project. The findings were published in the journal Nano Energy. The scalability of the concept beyond laboratory prototypes remains an open question.
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