Members of National Central University’s (NCU) Research Center for New Generation Photovoltaics yesterday announced that they have developed efficient perovskite solar cells that work in room lighting and are working with groups in Japan to improve verification techniques for cell efficiency.
Using perovskite — a calcium titanium oxide mineral whose chemical structure can be reproduced in the laboratory from various elements — to develop solar cells is a competitive field, as cell efficiency has skyrocketed from 3.8 percent in 2009 to 23.7 percent last year, said Wu Chun-guey (吳春桂), a chemistry department professor and director of the center.
Her team has developed perovskite solar cells up to 100m2 that can be used in room lighting to charge simple laboratory devices such as hygrometers, Wu said.
Photo: Chien Hui-ju, Taipei Times
The cells can be made into thin-film layers, so the team would like to collaborate with other researchers to develop applications for space technology, she said.
A perovskite solar cell has a layer of lead — less than 0.01 percent of its total composition — but the layer can be dissolved by a chemical solution, making it easier to recycle than silicon solar cells, she said.
In 2012, the chemistry department received funding from the Ministry of Science and Technology to establish an advanced laboratory of accommodation and research for organic photovoltaics, and since then, the team has been working with Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology and others to develop better ways of verifying the efficiency of solar cells, she said.
Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the US, Germany and Italy are the world’s leaders in developing the techniques, Wu added.
In 2017, the department’s Photovoltaic Efficiency Verification Laboratory became the nation’s first university laboratory to obtain ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation from the Taiwan Accreditation Foundation for solar cell calibration.
To test cell efficiency under various lighting conditions, the laboratory is equipped with a solar simulator, indoor lighting and LED lighting systems, said Chen Chia-yuan (陳家原), an assistant professor in the department, adding that the LED-lit environment is key to solar cell development.
Tokyo-based Ishikawa Trading Co has asked the laboratory to test sample solar cells, and a contract is expected to be signed later this year, he said.
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white
The Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union yesterday vowed to protest at the EVA Air Marathon on Sunday next week should EVA Airway Corp’s management continue to ignore the union’s petition to change rules on employees’ leave of absence system, after a flight attendant reportedly died after working on a long-haul flight while ill. The case has generated public discussion over whether taking personal or sick leave should affect a worker’s performance review. Several union members yesterday protested at the Legislative Yuan, holding white flowers and placards, while shouting: “Life is priceless; requesting leave is not a crime.” “The union is scheduled to meet with
‘UNITED FRONT’ RHETORIC: China’s TAO also plans to hold weekly, instead of biweekly, news conferences because it wants to control the cross-strait discourse, an expert said China’s plan to expand its single-entry visa-on-arrival service to Taiwanese would be of limited interest to Taiwanese and is a feeble attempt by Chinese administrators to demonstrate that they are doing something, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said the program aims to facilitate travel to China for Taiwanese compatriots, regardless of whether they are arriving via direct flights or are entering mainland China through Hong Kong, Macau or other countries, and they would be able to apply for a single-entry visa-on-arrival at all eligible entry points in China. The policy aims
The government yesterday donated US$200,000 to the Philippines to support post-earthquake relief and recovery efforts, following a powerful magnitude 6.9 quake that struck Cebu Province late last month, killing at least 72 people and injuring 559 others. The donation was presented earlier yesterday by Representative to the Philippines Wallace Chow (周民淦) to Cherbett Maralit, deputy resident representative of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office, at Taiwan’s representative office in Manila. In his remarks, Chow expressed concern for those affected by the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck the central Philippines on the night of Sept. 30. "We sincerely hope for the earliest possible
RSS