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					</table><p>Researchers from <a href="https://www.swansea.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Swansea University</a> have found that introducing compatible hole-transport materials (HTLs) between perovskite and carbon can significantly enhance the performance of perovskite solar cells (PSC).</p>
<p>PSCs offer a potential solution for efficient and economical renewable energy production. However, their widespread adoption is hindered by the lack of scalable fabrication methods.</p>
<p>Roll-to-roll processing is a promising approach for large-scale manufacturing, particularly when incorporating carbon electrodes. This brings benefits such as cost-effectiveness and stability.</p>
<p>The advancement holds the potential to enable cost-effective and high-throughput fabrication of PSCs, making them suitable for emerging applications such as building-integrated photovoltaics.</p>
<p>The researchers evaluated the efficiency, stability, and scalability of four interlayers (Spiro-MeOTAD, PTAA, PEDOT, and P3HT) in printed devices.</p>
<p>The findings indicate that Spiro-MeOTAD and PTAA were incompatible with the carbon electrode, while PEDOT and P3HT showed promising results.</p>
<p>Also, P3HT may be a preferable option for scaling up production when comparing P3HT and PEDOT in terms of stability, toxicity, and cost.</p>
<p>The researchers said these insights offer valuable guidance for optimizing the performance of perovskite solar cells in large-scale manufacturing through roll-to-roll printing.</p>
<p><strong>Results and Discussion</strong></p>
<p>Spiro-MeOTAD, widely used in spin-coated devices, performed poorly when combined with carbon electrodes due to weak charge transfer. This was attributed to compatibility issues between spiro and the carbon ink, resulting in altered chemical composition and reduced charge extraction efficiency.</p>
<p>PTAA, known for its hole-transport properties, also exhibited compatibility issues with carbon electrodes, leading to suboptimal device performance.</p>
<p>In contrast, P3HT, despite being insoluble in commonly used toxic solvents, showed promise in low-toxic solvents like O-xylene, offering compatibility with R2R coating processes and demonstrating efficient charge transfer with carbon electrodes.</p>
<p>PEDOT, previously shown to perform well in carbon-based devices, continued to exhibit high compatibility and stability, making it a viable choice for R2R PSC fabrication.</p>
<p>Comparative analysis of the four HTLs revealed that P3HT and PEDOT displayed minimal changes in surface roughness after solvent washing, indicating compatibility with the coating process.</p>
<p>Both materials demonstrated high charge-selecting ability and improved device performance compared to spiro and PTAA. Stability tests showed promising results for both P3HT and PEDOT, with P3HT exhibiting superior long-term stability under high humidity conditions.</p>
<p>Transitioning to R2R coating, P3HT solutions at concentrations below 10 mg ml−1 in O-xylene demonstrated successful coating and maintained device performance comparable to spin-coated devices. PEDOT also performed well in R2R-coated devices, highlighting its suitability for large-scale production.</p>
<p>The study evaluated these materials on rigid ITO glass substrates and extended to fully R2R coating of flexible PET ITO substrates with a resistivity of ~50 Ω sq−1.</p>
<p>In the R2R setup, devices incorporating PEDOT achieved a respectable PCE of 10.6%, while those with P3HT reached a PCE of 9.8%.</p>
<p>Moreover, tests conducted under different conditions showcased long-term stability for unencapsulated perovskite solar cells featuring carbon electrodes and these two HTL materials.</p>
<p>After 90 days, the unencapsulated devices with P3HT and PEDOT retained 85% and 75% of their initial PCE, respectively, with P3HT offering superior stability.</p>
<p>Both PEDOT and P3HT demonstrated compatibility with 2-methyl anisole, the solvent used for the carbon ink, in fully R2R PSCs. However, opting for P3HT over PEDOT presents several advantages, including higher humidity stability, use of a less toxic solvent, and lower cost.</p>
<p>Last March, researchers at UK-based Swansea University <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/researchers-find-cost-perovskite-solar-cells-at-scale" target="_blank" rel="noopener">established</a> a low-cost and scalable carbon ink formulation with the potential for large-scale manufacturing of perovskite solar cells.</p>
<p>Early this year, a research team at the University of Michigan <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/bulky-molecules-perovskite-solar-last-longer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">created</a> tandem cells by combining silicon-based semiconductors with perovskites to make the cells last longer.</p>


Researchers Find Low-Toxic Materials for Roll-to-Roll Perovskite Solar Cells


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					</table><p>Materials experts have developed polymer capacitors by incorporating a chemical reaction to achieve long polymer chains of sulfate molecules called polysulfates which have unique energy storage properties that can help improve the efficiency of integrated power systems.</p>
<p>Developed at the <a href="https://www.lbl.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory</a>, these capacitors are based on fabricated films making them highly resistant to increased temperatures and voltage.</p>
<p>In the experiment, polysulfates with enhanced thermal properties were cast onto flexible thin films.</p>
<p>Using the new sulfur-fluoride exchange (SuFEX) chemical reaction, the experts invented a new synthesis method and studied the link between polymer structure and the properties of materials.</p>
<p>The scientists at the Berkeley Lab collaborated with the U.S.-based non-profit medical research facility <a href="https://www.scripps.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Scripps Research</a> and used the chemical reaction to boost the dielectric properties of the materials used in capacitors, which can be commercialized as power capacitors in the future for energy storage.</p>
<p>A dielectric material is an electrical insulator such as silicon dioxide, which is widely used in semiconductor fabrication. Dielectric polymers with ultrahigh power density are largely used in modern electronics and power systems.</p>
<p>The chemical reaction is pioneered by K. Barry Sharpless, a two-time Nobel laureate in Chemistry and chemist at Scripps Research.</p>
<p><strong>Better storage performance with aluminum oxide</strong></p>
<p>The study published in the scientific journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/joule/home" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joule</a> said that the Berkeley and Scripps teams used the reaction to maintain the stability of the films cast with polysulfates while retaining the electrical insulating properties of newly designed capacitors.</p>
<p>“Several commercial and lab-generated polymers are known for their dielectric properties, but polysulfates had never been considered. The marriage between polysulfates and dielectrics is one of the novelties here,” said He Li, a postdoctoral researcher in the Molecular Foundry and in Berkeley Lab’s Materials Sciences Division, and lead author of the study.</p>
<p>The scientists introduced thin layers of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) that were deposited onto the thin films of the material which boosted the energy and storage performance of their new device with polysulfate-casted capacitors.</p>
<p>They discovered that the fabricated capacitors showed excellent mechanical flexibility while withstanding strong electric fields of over 750 million volts per meter.</p>
<p><strong>Polysulfate cast polymer capacitors vs commercial capacitors </strong></p>
<p>The new polymer-based capacitor device cast with polysulfate performed efficiently at high temperatures of up to 150 degrees Celsius, compared to the commercial polymer capacitors available currently that function stably at temperatures lower than 120 degrees Celsius.</p>
<p>The experts found that the polymer strikes a balance of electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties, likely due to the sulfate linkages introduced by the click chemistry reaction.</p>
<p>According to the researchers, polysulfates are potential contenders to enable polymer dielectrics which would help develop power capacitors. Such capacitors will help improve the energy efficiency and reliability of integrated power systems in applications like electrified transportation.</p>
<p>Scientists are now studying the chemical reaction to enable the commercialization of such power capacitors which can evidently enhance the performance and efficiency of electric vehicles.</p>
<p>“Our work adds a new class of electrically robust polymers to the table. It opens many possibilities for the exploration of more robust, high-performing materials. We’re continuously pushing the envelope of thermal and electrical properties, and accelerating the lab-to-market transition.,” said Yi Liu, senior author of the study and a chemist at Berkeley Lab.</p>
<p>In another research, scientists at the Indian Institute of Nano Science and Technology <a href="https://mercomindia.com/indian-scientists-come-up-improved-pseudocapacitor/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">developed</a> a new material for supercapacitors or pseudocapacitors. The material they said offers a low-cost, highly scalable energy storage solution, and can store electrical energy by electron charge transfer while it can be used as an alternative to batteries.</p>
<p>Last July, scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur <a href="https://mercomindia.com/indian-scientists-develop-sodium-ion-batteries/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">used</a> nanomaterials and developed sodium-ion (Na-ion) batteries and supercapacitors that can be integrated into e-cycles for rapid charging. The researchers synthesized sodium iron phosphates and sodium manganese phosphates to obtain sodium-ion batteries and supercapacitors.</p>


Capacitors Cast with Polysulfates Boost Energy Storage Devices Efficiency

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