Salt Boosts Perovskite Solar Cell Efficiency to 26.1%

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The NREL team replaced standard fullerene with an ionic salt called CPMAC, pushing efficiency from 25.5% to 26.1%.

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But the real magic? Salt-modified cells lost only 2% performance after running for 2,100 hours at high temperatures.

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"That's really the surprise, but it's a very good surprise," said Kai Zhu, senior scientist who led the research.

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How does it work? The salt makes the electron transport layer THREE TIMES stronger than before.

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Small modules with the salt modification achieved 23% efficiency with minimal degradation after months of testing.

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What makes this so important? Perovskite solar cells jumped from just 3.5% efficiency in 2009 to today's 26% - much faster than traditional silicon panels.

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Chinese manufacturers are pushing boundaries too - LONGi recently hit 34.85% efficiency with combined perovskite-silicon cells.

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Can this salt solution finally solve the durability problem that's kept perovskite cells from going mainstream?

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The findings appear in Science journal, backed by the Department of Energy and international research teams.

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