https://interestingengineering.com/sprinkling-chili-compound-boosts-solar-cell-efficiency-study-says
Researchers have found a rather interesting way of improving solar
cells' efficiency and stability with a secret ingredient -- capsaicin,
the molecule that makes chili peppers spicy, and to some, incredibly
delicious.
Researchers discovered that adding a sprinkle of capsaicin to a
perovskite precursor can improve the efficiency of solar cells, which
are the devices that make up solar panels.
The study was published in the journal Joule.
Perovskite solar cells convert ultraviolet and visible light into
electricity with high efficiency. However, they do have some problems
that are needed to be fixed. One issue is that imperfections in the
crystal structure can interfere with electrons passing through. This
results in them converting the energy into heat and reducing the output.
In order to overcome this problem, the team of researchers started
looking for a natural additive.
"Considering the electric, chemical, optical, and stable properties of
capsaicin, we preliminarily found that it would be a promising
candidate," said Qinye Bao, senior author of the study.
However, they needed to do a lot of experimentation to find the ideal
recipe. After rigorous studies, researchers found that 0.1 percent
capsaicin by weight added to a MAPbl3 perovskite precursor provided
benefits.
As a result, the team reports that perovskite solar cells made with the
compound had a power conversion efficiency of 21.88 percent. While this
is below the record for perovskite cells, it's the highest ever achieved
for polycrystalline MAPbl3 cells.
It was seen that stability also improved. It is reported that they
maintain high production levels for promising periods of time.
This is not the first time researchers have discovered such a technique.
Previously, it was discovered that solar cells' production could be
increased when dosed with caffeine.
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