Perovskite Solar Cells and Supercapacitors on Flexible Substrates

Francesca De Rossi^a, Daniel Augusto Machado de Alencar^b, Abhinandan Patra^a, Samyuktha Noola^b, Giulio Koch^a, Matteo Bonomo^b^,^c, Claudia Barolo^b, Francesca Brunetti^a

^aCHOSE – Centre for Hybrid and Organic Solar Energy, Department of Electronic Engineering, Tor Vergata University of Rome, via del Politecnico 1, 00133, Rome

^bDepartment of Chemistry, NIS and INSTM Reference Centre, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Pietro Giuria 7, Torino, 10125 Italy

^cDepartment of basic and applied science for engineering, La Sapienza, University of Rome, Via Antonio Scarpa 10, 00178, Rome, Italy

Proceedings of International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics (HOPV25)

Roma, Italy, 2025 May 12th - 14th

Organizers: Filippo De Angelis, Francesca Brunetti and Claudia Barolo

Oral, Francesca De Rossi, presentation 163
Publication date: 17th February 2025

Flexible electronic devices allow for the seamless integration of components with different functions, e.g. energy harvesting and storage, enabling self-powered portable and wearable devices. In this talk, we focus on flexible perovskite solar cells (f-PSC) for energy harvesting and flexible supercapacitors (f-SC) for energy storage.

Beside their remarkable efficiency, as high as 25% [1], f-PSCs present many appealing features, such as flexibility, conformability, high power-to-weight ratio, making them the perfect candidates for several applications: from IoT and portable/wearable electronics, to space [2]. Also, f-PSC fabrication is based on abundant materials and low-cost manufacture via solution processes. Still, most reports focus on lab scale processing, i.e. spin-coating, hazardous solvents, and expensive synthesis routes for crucial materials, all hardly compatible with industrialization.

Supercapacitors (SC) have become promising candidates in diverse fields that require high energy throughput (e.g. hybrid electric vehicles) and stable energy throughput (e.g. sensitive automation, computer chips, portable electronics), due to fast storage capability (i.e. low discharge time, SC: 1–10 s vs Li-ion battery: 10–60 min) and enhanced cyclic stability (SC > 30,000 h vs battery > 500 h) [3]. Technical challenges to increase the still low energy density include the development of advanced materials for electrodes with appropriate design, the choice of electrolyte, and the potential window of the electrodes.

We present our latest results on f-PSC reliable and sustainable fabrication routes for both materials and devices, compatible with high throughput roll-to-roll manufacture [4, 5]. We also report our latest results on f-SCs on unconventional substrates, i.e. paper, fabricated with sustainable, low-cost materials and large-area printing techniques [6].

Finally, we show the integration of a f-PSC mini-module and a f-SC on paper into a hybrid photo-supercapacitor [7], which combines energy conversion and storage in a single device. The device quickly reaches the saturated voltage under various light intensities and displays a self-discharge of >2 minutes, with overall and storage efficiencies of 2.8% and 23% respectively, with a broad potential window of 3.8 V [8].

References:

[1] Ren, N., Tan, L., Li, M., Zhou, J., Ye, Y., Jiao, B., ... & Yi, C. (2024). 25%—Efficiency flexible perovskite solar cells via controllable growth of SnO2. iEnergy.

[2] De Rossi, F., Taheri, B., Bonomo, M., Gupta, V., Renno, G., Nia, N. Y., ... & Brunetti, F. (2022). Neutron irradiated perovskite films and solar cells on PET substrates. NANO ENERGY, 93, 106879.

[3] Raza, W., Ali, F., Raza, N., Luo, Y., Kim, K. H., Yang, J., ... & Kwon, E. E. (2018). Recent advancements in supercapacitor technology. Nano Energy, 52, 441-473.

[4] Jafarzadeh, F., Castriotta, L. A., De Rossi, F., Ali, J., Di Giacomo, F., Di Carlo, A., ... & Brunetti, F. (2023). All-blade-coated flexible perovskite solar cells & modules processed in air from a sustainable dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)-based solvent system. SUSTAINABLE ENERGY & FUELS, 7(9), 2219-2228.

[5] de Alencar, D. A. M., Koch, G., De Rossi, F., Generosi, A., Ferraro, G., Bonomo, M., ... & Barolo, C. (2024). Phenothiazine‐Modified PTAA Hole Transporting Materials for Flexible Perovskite Solar Cells: A Trade‐Off Between Performance and Sustainability. ADVANCED SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS, 2400674.

[6] Polino, G., Scaramella, A., Manca, V., Palmieri, E., Tamburri, E., Orlanducci, S., & Brunetti, F. (2020). Nanodiamond‐Based Separators for Supercapacitors Realized on Paper Substrates. Energy Technology, 8(6), 1901233.

[7] Flores-Diaz, N., De Rossi, F., Das, A., Deepa, M., Brunetti, F., & Freitag, M. (2023). Progress of Photocapacitors. CHEMICAL REVIEWS, 123, 15, 9327–9355

[8] Lomeri, H. J., Patra, A., Polino, G., Ali, J., Jafarzadeh, F., Rout, C. S., Matteocci, F., De Rossi, F., & Brunetti, F. (2024). Integration of a Paper‐Based Supercapacitor and Flexible Perovskite Mini‐Module: Toward Self‐Powered Portable and Wearable Electronics. ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, 34(50), 2313267.

Acknowledgements:

The authors acknowledge the CETPartnership, the Clean and Energy Transition Partnership, for funding the SPOT-IT project (GA n°101069750) under the 2022 CETPartnership joint call for research proposal, co-founded by the European Commission and with the funding of the organizations detailed on https://cetpartnership.eu/funding-agencies-and-call-modules. They also acknowledge the Italian Space Agency (ASI) for funding the EN4SPACE project and the European Innovation Council (EIC) for funding the JUMP INTO SPACE project (GA n° 101162377). DAM, MB, CB acknowledge support from the Project CH4.0 under the MUR Program "Dipartimenti di Eccellenza 2023–2027" (CUPD13C22003520001).

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