“It’s great to have this piece of technology,” said Anita Ho-Baillie, chair of nanoscience at the University of Sydney. “There is a future for perovskite solar cells; we just have to keep working on it. “

Others disagree.

Australian National University professor Daniel MacDonald said that crystalline silicon solar cells, the dominant material for the past 50 years, will not be replaced by perovskite anytime soon.

“Other materials that challenge silicon have fallen by the wayside,” MacDonald said. “Perovskites are a candidate, but their stability will limit applications.

“Laird’s technology is a wonderful new way to study materials, which will help in the search to try and find a stronger perovskite material. The technique doesn’t solve the problem; it’s just another study tool that we can use.”

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The cost of solar cells is only a fraction of the cost of a solar panel system – which also includes glass, frames, back sheets, rails and electronics.

MacDonald said that while perovskite solar cells are cheaper to produce than their predecessors, it doesn’t guarantee that solar systems will be cheaper.

“Even if perovskite cells come free, they need to be very efficient and stable for more than 15 years to compete with silicon,” he said.

Laird agreed that unless scientists can solve the problem of decay and durability, perovskite solar cells are not suitable for commercial use, but he said that it is not science without its challenges.

Laird published a paper about his new device in a research journal Small Methods this week.

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