Solution-grown perovskite single crystalline radiovoltaic cells with 10% power conversion efficiency

Kostiantyn Sakhatskyi^a^,^b, Anastasiia Sakhatska^a^,^b, Bekir Turedi^a^,^b, Gebhard Matt^a^,^b, Vitalii Bartosh^a^,^b, Frank Krumeich^a^,^b, Federico Geser^c, Alberto Stabilini^c, Malgorzata Kasprzak^c, Charlie Mc Monagle^d, Dmitry Chernyshov^d, Sergii Yakunin^a^,^b, Maksym Kovalenko^a^,^b

^aETH Zurich, Laboratory of Inorganic Chemistry, Department of Chemistry & Applied Biosciences, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg, 1, Zürich, CH

^bLaboratory for Thin Films and Photovoltaics, Empa – Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Sci-ence and Technology, Überlandstrasse 129, CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland

^cPaul Scherrer Institut, Villigen PSI, 5232, Switzerland, Forschungsstrasse 111, Villigen, Switzerland

^dSwiss-Norwegian Beamlines, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), Grenoble, France.

Proceedings of Asia-Pacific Conference on Perovskite, Organic Photovoltaics&Optoelectronics (IPEROP25)

Kyoto, Japan, 2025 January 19th - 21st

Organizers: Atsushi Wakamiya and Hideo Ohkita

Oral, Kostiantyn Sakhatskyi, presentation 006
Publication date: 4th October 2024

Nuclear batteries present an appealing energy source characterized by an exceptionally long operational lifespan and a remarkable energy density, finding prominent application for equipment requiring sustained, autonomous operation over protracted durations, encompassing spacecraft, cardiac pacemakers, subaqueous systems and automated scientific stations. Except of radiation safety issues, the primary constraint hindering the extensive adoption of nuclear batteries is attributed to the limited efficiency and intricate fabrication processes of energy-conversion materials. Most widespread nuclear batteries are radioisotope thermoelectric generators which exhibit an energy conversion efficiency of merely 5%. In the quest for augmented efficiency, research endeavors have shifted towards direct conversion of gamma and beta radiation through radiovoltaic cells, where the best efficiency is so far achieved with costly and non-scalable diamond battery technology. In this study, we address the issue of efficiency, reporting 10% power conversion efficiency for the direct conversion of high-energy photons up to 20 keV with solution-grown methylamonium-formamidinium lead iodide (MAFAPbI₃) perovskite single-crystal radiovoltaic cells. Our experimental investigation determined the electron-hole pair creation energy for MAFAPbI₃ single crystals to be 5.05 eV, substantiating that the short-circuit current closely approaches the theoretical upper limit, as defined by the Klein model. Additionally, the devices exhibited a high open-circuit voltage of 600 mV even under low irradiation power density conditions of 69 nW mm^-2. Furthermore, the perovskite radiovoltaic cells demonstrated remarkable stability, maintaining their performance for a continuous 24-hour X-ray irradiation at a power density of 100 nW mm^-2. These findings underscore the promising potential of highly efficient and low-cost perovskite-based nuclear batteries.

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