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Despite their impressive performance, more efforts are required to develop industrially scalable perovskite solar cells from less toxic solvents. Towards that aim, this study presents the use of colloidal nanoparticle inks for room-temperature fabrication of CsPbBr3 solar cells.
Extensive efforts are under way to tackle the degradation issue—one of the biggest challenges for the practical application of perovskite-based solar cells. Here the authors show that CH3NH3PbI3 and several other iodine-containing perovskites are inherently unstable due to decomposition caused by self-generated I2.
Perovskite solar cells grown in substrate configuration would open a range of applications, if various challenges could be overcome. Towards that aim, Fu et al. present an architecture allowing inverted semi-transparent planar perovskite solar cells with open-circuit voltage of 1.116 V and 16.1% efficiency.
Using photoelectrodes to split water is a promising approach to convert solar energy to fuel, but photoanode stability is often an issue. Now, a Mo-doped BiVO4 photoanode is shown to stably evolve oxygen for 1,000 h due to in situ regeneration of the catalyst, and inhibition of photocorrosion.
Electrocatalytic water oxidation is key in energy storage technologies, but deeper mechanistic understanding is still required. Grimaud et al. show that surface oxygen atoms in a model oxide catalyst act as electrophilic centres for reactions and observe drastic reconstruction of the catalyst surface.
Tin-based perovskite solar cells are less toxic than their lead-based counterparts, but suffer from severe stability issues due to the susceptibility of tin to oxidation. Now, a CsSnI3 perovskite solar cell with a SnCl2 additive is shown to exhibit remarkable stability.
The US Clean Power Plan establishes detailed CO2 emissions reductions targets at state level with a flexible framework for implementation. This flexibility is intended to spur innovation and economic efficiency, but a study finds that it creates vast uncertainties around both the implementation of the rule and subsequent impacts.
Decarbonization of heat is a difficult challenge — with many interdependent factors — but one that is increasingly urgent for energy researchers to tackle.
Organometal halide perovskite materials have been the subject of intensive research efforts in the context of photovoltaic applications. Here the authors exploit dynamic equilibrium to photocatalytically generate hydrogen from aqueous HI solutions using methylammonium lead iodide.
Catalysing the oxygen evolution reaction is central to electrochemical energy conversion technologies such as electrolysis, but the high cost of state-of-the-art precious metal oxide electrocatalysts hinders commercialization. Now, thin sheets of a metal–organic framework are shown to provide a high-performing, cheaper alternative.
Efficient electrocatalysts for the oxygen–evolution reaction are desired due to their importance in applications such as water splitting and metal–air batteries. Here, the authors engineer ultrathin metal–organic frameworks that require low overpotential to generate oxygen from alkaline media.
Tin-based photovoltaic devices are less toxic than their lead-based counterparts, but suffer severe stability issues due to the susceptibility of tin oxidation. Here the authors report a CsSnI3 perovskite solar cell with a SnCl2 additive that displays a remarkable stability.
Planar structured perovskite solar cells often show hysteresis and lower efficiency than mesoporous ones. Jiang et al. show that using a SnO2 electron transport layer improves the performance of planar devices, reporting a certified efficiency of 19.9%, and enables a lower processing temperature.