Researchers just made indoor solar panels safer and more efficient, and they could soon replace coin-cell batteries.
Researchers at the University of Queensland have developed indoor solar panels that could one day power wearables, sensors, and small electronics using the light already found in homes and offices.
The panels use perovskite, a material increasingly viewed as a possible alternative to traditional silicon in solar cells. Indoor silicon-based solar cells usually reach about 10 percent efficiency, while perovskite has the potential to perform much better.
The main challenge has been that many perovskite solar cells depend on lead and hazardous solvents during manufacturing, which raises safety concerns and makes large-scale production harder. The UQ team says it has found a way around that problem.
How the new process works
Using a vapor-based method, PhD student Zitong Wang, working under Dr Miaoqiang Lyu and Professor Lianzhou Wang, created high-quality lead-free perovskite material without using hazardous solvents.
The resulting panels reached a power conversion efficiency of 16.36 percent under indoor lighting. That is the highest recorded efficiency for this type of lead-free perovskite indoor solar cell produced with an industry-compatible process.
What could these panels power?
The technology is being explored as a replacement for coin-cell and button batteries in low-power devices such as environmental sensors, wearables, and health monitors. Electronic shelf labels used in supermarkets are also among the early use cases.
The panels are thin, flexible, and can be made in different shapes, which makes them easier to integrate into a wide range of products. The next step is encapsulation, which will protect them from moisture and oxygen.
If development continues as expected, lead-free perovskite indoor solar panels could reach consumer products within the next few years. For low-power electronics, that could mean less battery waste and a more sustainable power source built into everyday devices.
