Scientists have invented a new kind of solar panel capable of harvesting energy from indoor fluorescent lights.
The next-generation solar cells were created using the so-called ‘miracle material’ perovskite, which has been hailed for its potential to revolutionise renewable energy.
The material is increasingly used in conventional solar panels due to its higher energy conversion efficiency compared to traditional silicon-based solar panels.
It can also be used to harvest indoor light from lamps or bulbs by adjusting the material, however until now this process has created tiny defects in the perovskite that make it less efficient and more unstable.
A team from National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Taiwan was able to overcome this issue with a chemical method that heals the flaws and makes the solar cells suitable for everyday use.
This method, referred to as “bandgap adjustment”, is not possible in traditional silicon solar cells.
Perovskite solar cells also have the advantage of being thin, lightweight, flexible and semi-transparent, opening up more applications than rigid and heavy silicon panels.
The latest breakthrough means the technology could be used to charge devices like remote controls and wearable devices, according to the researchers.
“The indoor efficiency of perovskite solar cells is higher, meaning that the photovoltaic products can be more suitable for versatile user scenarios, including cloudy outdoor, indoor, and other dim-light environments,” said Fang-Chung Chen from National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Taiwan.
“In the beginning, we only expected our approach could improve the device efficiency. Because the poor reliability of perovskite solar cells is a large challenge for their adoption, we hope our proposed method can pave the way toward the commercialisation of perovskite solar panels.”
The indoor solar cells were detailed in the scientific journal APL Energy this week, in a paper titled ‘Chelating agent-based defect passivation for enhanced indoor performance of wide-bandgap perovskite solar cells’.
