A ferroelectric enhanced solar cell, including a conductive substrate, and a hole blocking layer, a mesoporous nanocrystalline layer, a mesoporous spacer layer and a mesoporous back electrode sequentially deposited in that order on the conductive substrate. The mesopores of at least one of the mesoporous nanocrystalline layer, the mesoporous spacer layer and the mesoporous back electrode are filled with a photoactive material. At least one of the hole blocking layer, the mesoporous nanocrystalline layer and the mesoporous spacer layer includes a ferroelectric material or a ferroelectric nanocomposite.

Described herein is an ink solution, comprising a composition of formula (I): ABX.sub.3(I), wherein A comprises at least one cation selected from the group consisting of methylammonium, tetramethylammonium, formamidinium, cesium, rubidium, potassium, sodium, butylammonium, phenethylammonium, phenylammonium, and guanidinium; B comprises at least one divalent metal; and X is at least one halide; and a mixed solvent system comprising two or more solvents selected from the group consisting of dimethyl sulfoxide, dimethylformamide, γ-butyrolactone, 2-methoxyethanol, and acetonitrile. Methods for producing poly-crystalline perovskite films using the ink solutions described herein and the use of the films in photovoltaic and photoactive applications are additionally described.

A method for preparing an inorganic perovskite battery based on a synergistic effect of gradient annealing and antisolvent includes preparing a perovskite layer by a gradient annealing and an antisolvent treatment. A thickness of the perovskite layer is 100 to 1000 nm; when preparing a perovskite precursor solution of the perovskite layer, a solvent is an amide-based solvent and/or a sulfone-based solvent; a concentration of the perovskite precursor solution for preparing the perovskite layer is 0.4 to 2 M; and the gradient annealing is conducted at 40 to 70° C./0.5 to 5 min+70 to 130° C./0.5 to 5 min+130 to 160° C./5 to 20 min+160 to 280° C./0 to 20 min; and a solvent for the anti-solvent treatment is an alcohol solvent, a benzene solvent or an ether solvent.

Transmission of low energy light is one of the primary loss mechanisms of a single junction solar cell. Molecular photon upconversion via triplet-triplet annihilation (TTA-UC)—combining two or more low energy photons to generate a higher energy excited state—is an intriguing strategy to surpass this limit. The present disclosure is directed to self-assembled multilayers, e.g., bi- or trilayers, on metal oxide surfaces as a strategy to facilitate TTA-UC emission and demonstrate direct charge separation of the upconverted state. A three-fold enhancement in transient photocurrent is achieved at light intensities as low as two equivalent suns. The multilayer structure comprises a substrate comprising a metal oxide surface and a bulk region, and a self-assembled bilayer film, the bilayer film comprising: (a) an acceptor molecule covalently bonded to the metal oxide surface; (b) a linking metal ion bonded to the acceptor molecule; and (c) one or more sensitizer molecule(s) bonded to the linking coordinating metal ion.

Provided is a solar cell module including photoelectric conversion elements, wherein each of the photoelectric conversion elements includes a first substrate, and a first electrode, a hole blocking layer, an electron transport layer, a hole transport layer, a second electrode, and a second substrate on the first substrate, and a sealing member between the first substrate and the second substrate, and wherein, within at least two of the photoelectric conversion elements adjacent to each other, the hole-blocking layers are not extended to each other but the hole transport layers are in a state of a continuous layer where the hole transport layers are extended to each other.

The present disclosure discloses metal oxide nanoparticle ink, a method of preparing the same, a metal oxide nanoparticle thin film manufactured using the same, and a photoelectric device using the same. The method of preparing metal oxide nanoparticle ink according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a step of, using a ligand solution including a metal oxide and an organic ligand, synthesizing a first nanoparticle that is a metal oxide nanoparticle surrounded with the organic ligand; a step of preparing a dispersion solution by dispersing the first nanoparticle in a solvent; a step of preparing a second nanoparticle by mixing the dispersion solution and a pH-adjusted alcohol solvent and then performing ultrasonication treatment to remove the organic ligand surrounding the first nanoparticle; and a step of preparing metal oxide nanoparticle ink by dispersing the second nanoparticle in a dispersion solvent.

Materials and methods for improving the stability of perovskites are described.

Presented herein is a voltaic cell containing light harvesting antennae or other biologically-based electron generating structures optionally in a microbial population, an electron siphon population having electron conductive properties with individual siphons configured to accept electrons from the light harvesting antennae and transport the electrons to a current collector, an optional light directing system (e.g., a mirror), and a regulator having sensing and regulatory feedback properties for the conversion of photobiochemical energy and biochemical energy to electricity. Also presented herein is a voltaic cell having electricity-generating abilities in the absence of light. Also presented herein is the use of the voltaic cell in a solar panel.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device comprising a semiconducting material, wherein the semiconducting material comprises a compound comprising: (i) one or more first monocations [A]; (ii) one or more second monocations [B.sup.I]; (iii) one or more trications [B.sup.III]; and (iv) one or more halide anions [X]. The invention also relates to a process for producing a semiconductor device comprising said semiconducting material. Also described is a compound comprising: (i) one or more first monocations [A]; (ii) one or more second monocations [B.sup.I] selected from Cu.sup.+, Ag.sup.+ and Au.sup.+; (iii) one or more trications [B.sup.III]; and (iv) one or more halide anions [X].

The present invention relates to a dye-sensitized solar cell unit (1) comprising a working electrode comprising a light-absorbing layer (10), a porous first conducting layer (12) for extracting photo-generated electrons from the light-absorbing layer (10), wherein the light-absorbing layer (10) is arranged on top of the first conducting layer (12), a porous insulating layer (105c) made of an insulating material, wherein the porous first conducting layer (12) is arranged on top of the porous insulating layer (105c). The dye-sensitized solar cell unit (1) further comprises a counter electrode comprising a second conducting layer (16) including conducting material, and a porous third conducting layer (106c) disposed between the porous insulating layer (105c) and the second conducting layer (16), and in electrical contact with the second conducting layer. The dye-sensitized solar cell unit (1) further comprises a liquid electrolyte for transferring charges between the counter electrode and the working electrode. The second conducting layer (16) is non-catalytic and the third conducting layer (106c) comprises catalytic particles (107) for improving the transfer of electrons to the liquid electrolyte.