A pure perovskite crystal, orange in colour, is mounted on a cryostat. Credit: U of T Engineering

University of Toronto engineers study first single crystal perovskites for new applicationsEngineers have shone new light on an emerging family of solar-absorbing materials that could clear the way for cheaper and more efficient solar panels and LEDs.

The materials, called perovskites, are particularly good at absorbing visible light, but had never been thoroughly studied in their purest form: as perfect single crystals.

Using a new technique, researchers grew large, pure perovskite crystals and studied how electrons move through the material as light is converted to electricity.

Led by Professor Ted Sargent of The Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of Toronto and Professor Osman Bakr of the Kingapproaching conventional materials that have already been commercialized," says Valerio Adinolfi, a PhD candidate in the Sargent Group and co-first author on the paper. "They have the potential to offer further progress on reducing the cost of solar electricity in light of their convenient manufacturability from a liquid chemical precursor."

Researchers Valerio Adinolfi (left) and Riccardo Comin examine a perovskite crystal. Perovskites are attracting growing interest in the context of thin-film solar technologies, but had never been studied in their purest form: as perfect single crystals. Credit: U of T Engineering

The study has obvious implications for green energy, but may also enable innovations in lighting. Think of a solar panel made of perovskite crystals as a fancy slab of glass: light hits the crystal surface and gets absorbed, exciting