Solar panels are set up on the rooftop of Konghang High School in western Seoul on July 17, 2020. (Yonhap)
DAEJEON, Sept. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — A recent study showed that the efficiency of photoelectric transformation improved by using a virus rather than a chemical compound as solar cell thin film.
The National Research Foundation of Korea said Thursday that a joint research team from Sungkyunkwan University and Pusan National University succeeded in complementing the intrinsic defect of a perovskite solar cell’s absorber layer by adding a virus.
Solar cells using the oxide mineral perovskite as an absorber layer have higher efficiency than existing silicon solar cells, but require the addition of a chemical compound due to the intrinsic defects of perovskite crystal.
Perovskite solar cells have limits since the process of adding chemical compounds is expensive and the purity of the generated material is low.
The research team used an ‘M13 bacteriophage’ that it acquired through a culture instead of a chemical compound. This method generated a photoelectric transformation efficiency of 22.3 percent, higher than existing perovskite solar cells (20.9 percent).
Amino acids on the surface of the bacteriophage combine with lead ions on the surface of perovskite, having the effect of invigorating the growth of perovskite crystal and complementing its defects.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
