New lead-free perovskite materials for cheap solar energy.

What is it about?

So called perovskite-solar cells have created a buzz in the world of photovoltaic research over the past few years, in part due to the rapid increase in efficiencies of the cells from few percent to over 20% in only 5 years. However, the most efficient materials are unstable in the presence of water, and contain lead. Here we use a new technique to make a lead-free double perovskite based, Cs2SnI6 which is shows excellent stability when exposed to air or water vapour.

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Why is it important?

Our work shows that aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition can produce thin Cs2SnI6 films with increased stability compared to spin coated films and pave the way for more stable, less toxic perovskite solar cells.