As a new photovoltaic technology with great application prospects, perovskite solar cells boast advantages including high efficiency, low cost, flexibility, and light weight, and are of great significance for addressing energy and environmental issues. However, device instability remains the primary challenge hindering their industrialization.
In the early morning of March 7 (Beijing Time), Professor Hou Yu, Professor Yang Shuang, and other researchers from the Clean Energy Materials and Devices Team of the School of Materials Science and Engineering at East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST) published their latest research findings titled Graphene-polymer reinforcement of perovskite lattices for durable solar cells in Science. This study identified the key mechanism underlying the instability of perovskite photovoltaics—the photomechanically induced decomposition effect—and proposed a novel method for mechanically reinforcing perovskite materials using graphene-polymer composites. The solar cell devices fabricated via this method set a new record with a T97 operational lifetime of 3,670 hours under standard solar illumination and high temperatures. This research outcome will provide an entirely new solution for the industrial application of perovskite solar cells.
