Path Opened for Mass Production of Next-Generation Perovskite Solar Cell Modules

Research Achievements of the Ministry of Science and ICT-Supported Team Selected as Cover Paper in International Journal

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 16th that a joint research team led by Professor Jeong Eui-hyeok of Korea University of Energy and Technology and Senior Researcher Jeon Nam-jung of the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology has succeeded in developing a high-performance perovskite module through the implementation of a high-quality electron transport layer.

Test results of device efficiency per area and driving stability using surface engineering of tin oxide according to acidity adjustment proposed by the joint research team of Korea University of Energy and Chemical Technology and Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology. The image on the right is the cover of the international journal Advanced Energy Materials, Volume 14, Issue 25, July 2024, featuring this research.

This research, conducted with the support of the Ministry’s Nano Material Technology Development Project (Nano Connect) and Individual Research Project (Outstanding Early Career Researcher), was selected as the cover paper of the international journal Advanced Energy Materials (IF 27.8) on July 6.

Perovskite solar cells have the potential for large-area fabrication comparable to printing newspapers, unlike conventional silicon solar cells, but there are many constraints and limitations in applying high-efficiency perovskite solar cell technology from unit devices to large-area modules.

The Ministry introduced that the joint research team of Professor Jeong Eui-hyeok and Senior Researcher Jeon Nam-jung developed a technology to secure optimal viscosity by adjusting the acidity of tin oxide (SnO2) nanoparticle dispersion in the electron transport layer and to control electrical defects, achieving new research results that open the possibility of large-area perovskite solar cells.

The Ministry also plans to transfer the uniformity and defect control technology of the electron transport layer developed in this study to companies related to perovskite materials, expecting that mass production in the future will accelerate commercialization.

Professor Jeong Eui-hyeok and Dr. Jeon Nam-jung stated, “This research result revealed that the uniformity and defect control of the electron transport layer play a decisive role in large-area perovskite module research,” adding, “We expect that the technology developed to overcome the existing limitations of large-area fabrication will be actively utilized for the commercialization of perovskite modules.”