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A new material has been developed that increases the potential for mass and continuous production of perovskite solar cells, which attract attention as a next-generation solar cell technology. Because performance remains stable even when processing conditions change, it is expected to accelerate the commercialization of low-cost, large-area production processes.
The National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) announced on the 27th that a joint research team led by Professor Jeong Eui-hyeok of Korea Energy University of Technology (KENTECH) and principal researchers Jeon Nam-jung and Lee Jae-min of the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) has designed a new material that operates stably despite changes in process speed and coating thickness. The research results were published online on the 11th in the international journal “Advanced Energy Materials.”
Perovskite solar cells are lighter and more flexible than conventional silicon solar cells, making them a promising next-generation solar cell technology. Recently, various production process technologies have advanced rapidly, including roll-to-roll (R2R)–based manufacturing processes that continuously print and coat films.
In particular, passivation technology, which reduces surface defects on solar cells to prevent electrical losses, is advantageous for improving solar cell efficiency but is highly sensitive to changes in processing conditions. Even small variations in coating thickness or process speed lead to large performance deviations, making it difficult to apply this technology to large-area continuous production processes.
The research team addressed these limitations by developing a new interfacial material. They designed the molecules so that they do not form a regular crystal lattice, creating an amorphous interfacial material with an irregular arrangement, termed “I-4PACz.”
When I-4PACz was applied to the passivation process, the existing material showed decreasing solar cell efficiency as its concentration increased, whereas I-4PACz exhibited almost no efficiency loss even when its concentration varied by about a factor of ten. The efficiency of large-area solar cells also remained stable when the blade-coating speed used to form thin films on the solar cell substrate was varied.
The team also evaluated the power conversion efficiency, which is the ratio at which sunlight is converted into electrical energy. They achieved a power conversion efficiency of 21.2% in a large-area perovskite solar cell module with an area of 24.5 square centimeters. The research team explained that this figure is close to the current commercial silicon solar cell module efficiency of about 21–22%, demonstrating the potential for commercialization of large-area perovskite solar cells.
Professor Jeong Eui-hyeok said, “We have simultaneously secured the process stability and reproducibility required in real industrial manufacturing,” and added, “Because this material can be readily applied to existing R2R continuous and large-area production processes, it is expected to accelerate the commercialization of perovskite solar cells.”
<Reference>
doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202506809
