In the kitchen, a pinch of salt is enough to give life to a dish. In the laboratory, another very different salt promises a similar effect, to give a new flavor to solar energy. What for the scientists of the University College in London is a simple chemical additive, it could become the seasoning that revolutionizes the energy future.
Seasoning the panels. A team from University College London (UCL) has proven To add Guanidininum Tiocyanate to Perovskitas allows you to manufacture more efficient and stable solar cells. In trials with tin and lead perovskitas in the lower layer of tandem cells – they achieved a 22.3% efficiency, near the record for that family.
Scientists have underlined a double effect: more performance and more useful life by reducing microscopic defects during crystals.
Just a pinch of salt. The secret is how crystals form. Normally, during manufacturing, Perovskita crystals are formed in a disorderly way, with microscopic imperfections that reduce their efficiency and shorten their useful life. In this way, the guanidinium tiocyanate enters that acts as a modulator: it slows down and controls that process, achieving smoother and more uniform layers. It is as if adding salt, the crystals had time to grow more orderly, without leaving holes or defects that then act as electrons traps.
A complementary study at ACS Energy Letters deepened in this mechanism. According to the authors, Guanidinio cations not only improve the quality of the glass, but also facilitate the extraction of electric charge, reduce ion migration and increase stability. This is especially important in the inverted structures (PIN), which are considered more stable in the long term than conventional ones. In the words of the first author of the studyYueyao Dong (UCL): “By modulating the formation of crystals in a controlled way, we were able to create much higher quality films, a change that translates directly into more efficient and durable devices.”
The next solar border. The implications go far beyond a laboratory record. The issue is that each layer of Perovskita’s tandem can be designed to absorb different parts of the solar spectrum, which allows to take advantage of more light and turn it into electricity. So, According to UCLusing this type of “salt” in the lower tandem layer could further push records, since other Pervskita tandem They have exceeded more than 40% laboratory efficiency.
Can you climb? Perovskitas have another advantage: they are manufactured with low temperature processes, simpler and less energy intensive than silicon. That opens the door to light and flexible modules, integrable in facades, windows or Curved surfaces.
However, the interesting thing about this finding is that the additive acts during the manufacture, without the need to redesign the device. In theory, this facilitates moving it from laboratory cells to industrial modules.
A door that still has to cross. However, the biggest challenge is still pending: Long -term certified durability. Perovskitas still have to demonstrate that they resist years of sun, humidity and heat without degrading. To this is added the question of lead, present in many formulations.
Precisely UCL’s work bet by the tin-pull mixture, with focus on stability and reduction of defects. They are steps in the right direction, but not the final goal. ACS ENERGY LOTTERS STUDY Add a curious nuance: Small dose of Guanidinio help; Too much can be counterproductive and stop cargo transport. In other words: this seasoning works as in the kitchen, where an excess of salt ruins the recipe.
A simple touch makes the difference. Like a pinch of salt, it enhances the taste of a dish, a pinch of guanidinio tiocyanate can turn Perovskita into the main ingredient of the energy transition.
What until recently was a promising but fragile material, it begins to consolidate as a real alternative to silicon. If science manages to stabilize and climb it, we could be facing the beginning of a new solar era: cleaner, more powerful and more accessible.
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