A research team at the University of Buffalo at New York has developed a low cost and highly efficient thin film which uses a special perovskite material known as barium zirconium sulfide (BaZrS3) to boost its performance.
Barium zirconium sulfide is known to have an impressive light absorption property and good electric charge transmissions. They also happen to be very cost effective and cheap to make.
With the help of these materials, the overall conversion efficiency of a PV cell can be greatly increased. The properties of the perovskite material will remain largely intact even after the cell has been damaged, according to the research team. This makes the perovskite material an ideal option for developing reliable and sturdy PV cells.
In the future, it would be interesting to see whether the use of these materials will be extended to the other mainstream technologies like LEDs and photoelectric sensors.
The results of the research team’s findings and testings can all be seen in the latest issue of the journal, "Nano Energy."
(Photo courtesy of the University of Buffalo)