Chinese scientists develop novel high-efficiency solar cell

BEIJING, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- An international team led by scientists with the Institute of Chemistry under the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a new type of high-efficiency solar cell.

The perovskite-organic tandem solar cell can achieve a photoelectric conversion efficiency of 26.4 percent, the highest efficiency for such solar cells to date, according to Li Yongfang, an academician and a researcher at the institute.

Perovskite solar cells and organic solar cells represent the next generation of solar cells. Compared to the currently widely used crystalline silicon solar cells, they offer advantages such as ease of preparation, light weight and the ability to be fabricated into flexible devices.

These features present significant application prospects in areas such as portable energy, building-integrated photovoltaics and indoor photovoltaics.

The novel cell utilizes wide-bandgap perovskite materials to absorb short-wavelength sunlight and the narrow-bandgap organic active layer to absorb near-infrared long-wavelength sunlight, Li said.

He added that this combination significantly expands the usable solar spectrum and effectively enhances the energy conversion efficiency of the device.

The study was published in the journal Nature.  ■