Scientists in Australia have developed a new method for producing indoor solar cells with higher efficiency while eliminating toxic materials, opening up prospects for widespread applications in homes, offices, and low-power electronic devices.
According to researchers at the University of Queensland (UQ), the university's team of chemical engineers has developed a new manufacturing process for perovskite batteries for home use, completely eliminating toxic lead and hazardous solvents commonly used in traditional production.
Lyu Miaoqiang, co-author of the study published in the journal ACS Energy Letters, said that perovskite halide is an emerging technology with the potential to replace silicon due to its high efficiency and significant commercial potential.
Notably, the research team successfully developed a safe and scalable evaporative production process.
Test results showed that the battery achieved an energy conversion efficiency of up to 16.36% under indoor lighting conditions, significantly higher than the approximately 10% of traditional silicon technology.
According to Lyu, this material has the ability to efficiently absorb and convert weak indoor light into electricity, and the new manufacturing process is more suitable for large-scale production.
Researchers say lead-free perovskite solar cells could become an alternative to traditional "button batteries" in many low-power devices such as environmental sensors, wearables, health and medical trackers, and electronic labels in the retail industry.
Mr. Lyu emphasized that with proper voltage management, these devices could replace "button batteries," contributing to a reduction in small battery waste and limiting the risk of children coming into contact with batteries in toys.
Researchers expect this technology to be commercialized within the next few years, opening up new avenues for small-scale clean energy development and applications in daily life.