The space environment is harsh and full of extreme radiation. Scientists designing spacecraft and satellites need materials that can withstand these conditions.
Metal-halide perovskites are a class of materials discovered in 1839 that are found abundantly in Earth’s crust. They absorb sunlight and efficiently convert it into electricity, making them a potentially good fit for space-based solar panels that can power satellites or future space habitats.
Researchers make perovskites in the form of inks, then coat the inks onto glass plates or plastic, creating thin, filmlike devices that are lightweight and flexible.
Surprisingly, these thin-film solar cells perform as well as conventional silicon solar cells in laboratory demonstrations, even though they are almost 100 times thinner than traditional solar cells.
But these films can degrade if they’re exposed to moisture or oxygen. Researchers and industry are currently working on addressing these stability concerns for terrestrial deployment.
The space environment is harsh and full of extreme radiation. Scientists designing spacecraft and satellites need materials that can withstand these conditions.
Metal-halide perovskites are a class of materials discovered in 1839 that are found abundantly in Earth’s crust. They absorb sunlight and efficiently convert it into electricity, making them a potentially good fit for space-based solar panels that can power satellites or future space habitats.
Researchers make perovskites in the form of inks, then coat the inks onto glass plates or plastic, creating thin, filmlike devices that are lightweight and flexible.