Researchers from Northwestern University in Illinois have developed a new perovskite solar cell that uses tin to absorb light instead of lead.
The growing use of perovskite structures for solar panels has created more efficient means of absorbing energy from the Sun, according to CNET.
The issue with such structures is that they rely on the use of the toxic element lead.
"Our tin-based perovskite layer acts as an efficient sunlight absorber that is sandwiched between two electric charge transport layers for conducting electricity to the outside world," said Robert H. Chang, researcher from Northwestern who helped engineer the new cell.
The research team found that the new cell could be used with bench chemistry, in which scientists manually mix the chemicals. This traditional method can sometimes pose risks due to some of the chemicals being hazardous to humans. Lead, for example, has been found to be poisonous if it is inhaled or ingested, Tech Times reported.
The researchers said the tin-based solar cells absorb most of the visible light spectrum, and that salt in perovskite can be dissolved and return to normal without heating.
"This is a breakthrough in taking the lead out of a very promising type of solar cell, called a perovskite," said Mercouri G. Kanatzidis, chemistry professor and lead author of the study. "Tin is a very viable material, and we have shown the material does work as an efficient solar cell."
Tin cells are currently not as efficient as lead, but researchers said the material has potential to improve, CNET reported.
"Other scientists will see what we have done and improve on our methods," Kanatzidis said. "There is no reason this new material can't reach an efficiency better than 15 percent, which is what the lead perovskite solar cell offers. Tin and lead are in the same group in the periodic table, so we expect similar results."
Details of the new solar cell were published in the journal Nature Photonics.
