From daily news and career tips to monthly insights on AI, sustainability, software, and more—pick what matters and get it in your inbox.
Access expert insights, exclusive content, and a deeper dive into engineering and innovation all with fewer ads or a completely ad-free experience.
All Rights Reserved, IE Media, Inc.
Follow Us On
Access expert insights, exclusive content, and a deeper dive into engineering and innovation all with fewer ads or a completely ad-free experience.
All Rights Reserved, IE Media, Inc.
A perovskite top layer and CIGS bottom layer capture different sunlight wavelengths, boosting solar power generation.
Chinese researchers have developed a new type of tandem solar cell that achieves a power conversion efficiency of 29.71 percent.
The team improved the stability of the perovskite material by adding a sulfur-based compound called bis(2-pyridylmethyl) sulfide (2PyS), which helps reduce tiny flaws that normally lower performance over time.
It also prevents the movement of charged particles and limits light-induced material changes that can degrade the solar cell.
The advance could help make next-generation solar panels more efficient, longer-lasting, and better suited for commercial use.
Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have developed a highly efficient tandem solar cell that combines two different solar technologies to capture more sunlight and convert it into electricity. The new device achieved a power conversion efficiency of 29.71 percent, making it one of the best-performing perovskite/CIGS tandem solar cells reported so far.
The solar cell uses a perovskite layer on top and a CIGS (copper, indium, gallium, and selenium) solar cell underneath. The top perovskite layer is designed to absorb higher-energy sunlight, while the CIGS bottom layer captures the lower-energy light that passes through. By splitting the sunlight between two materials, tandem solar cells can generate more electricity than conventional single-layer solar cells, reports PV Magazine.
One of the biggest challenges with wide-bandgap perovskite materials is that they tend to become unstable over time. Tiny defects can form inside the material during manufacturing, allowing charged particles to move around. This gradually reduces performance, especially when the solar cells are exposed to sunlight and heat for long periods.
To solve this problem, the Chinese researchers introduced a sulfur-containing organic compound called bis(2-pyridylmethyl) sulfide (2PyS) during the manufacturing process. Rather than repairing defects after the solar cell is made, the compound helps control how the perovskite crystals form from the start.
According to the research team, 2PyS interacts strongly with lead ions inside the perovskite material. This helps reduce the number of defects, limits the movement of halide ions, and prevents the material from separating into different phases under sunlight. These changes make the perovskite layer more stable and improve its ability to convert sunlight into electricity.
The researchers also found that 2PyS slows crystal formation just enough to allow the perovskite film to grow more evenly. This results in a smoother, higher-quality layer with fewer imperfections, reducing energy losses and improving the overall performance of the device.
The tandem solar cell consists of a semi-transparent perovskite top cell and a CIGS bottom cell. On its own, the CIGS cell achieved an efficiency of 19.65 percent under full sunlight. However, when placed beneath the perovskite layer in the tandem device, it received less light because the top cell absorbed part of the spectrum, reducing its efficiency to 7.5 percent. The perovskite top cell itself reached an efficiency of 22.21 percent, reports PV Magazine.
When both cells operated together in a four-terminal (4T) tandem configuration, their combined output reached an overall efficiency of 29.71 percent. The researchers also tested the durability of the new design. After 2,000 hours of continuous operation, the tandem solar cells retained more than 91 percent of their original efficiency, demonstrating strong long-term stability.
The team believes the new coordination-engineering approach using 2PyS could help overcome one of the biggest barriers to commercial perovskite solar cells. By improving both efficiency and durability, the technique could support the development of next-generation solar panels capable of producing more electricity while maintaining performance for much longer periods.
Jijo is an automotive and business journalist based in India. Armed with a BA in History (Honors) from St. Stephen's College, Delhi University, and a PG diploma in Journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Delhi, he has worked for news agencies, national newspapers, and automotive magazines. In his spare time, he likes to go off-roading, engage in political discourse, travel, and teach languages.
Premium
Follow
