'Holy grail' of solar technology set to consign 'unsustainable silicon' to history

Researchers have synthesized highly durable solar cells made from perovskite — a common crystal structure (in its natural form a calcium titanium oxide mineral) — in a breakthrough that could revolutionize the solar industry.

Solar power is the fastest-growing energy technology and plays a key role in cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Solar power converts sunlight into electricity — and is used in various applications including lighting, heating, cooling, computers, electronics and powering machinery.

Solar panels made from silicon have a lifetime of around 25 years. It is tried and tested, but using silicon is environmentally unsustainable because it is a non-renewable, finite resource. The most durable solar panels, for example, use pure silicon, which is costly and inefficient to produce.

In recent years, perovskites have shown promise as a cheaper, less wasteful material, the scientists said, but have far less durability. Natural perovskites are rare but can be synthesized artificially as an organic-inorganic compound with an ABX3 crystal structure harboring electrically charged ions. 

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They work as an active light-harvesting layer like those found in solar technologies today. But they are not commercially viable because they have a lifetime measured in just months. They are also prone to chemical and thermal instability, and problems can arise during production (they are susceptible to damage by moisture and oxygen).

Scientists aimed to tackle these stability issues by creating new design strategies, publishing their findings in a study published June 13 in the journal Science. They created a new structure from perovskites that can theoretically last as long as silicon-based solar cells.