In 1839, German scientist Gustav Rose discovered a new calcium titanate-based mineral in the Ural Mountains. It was named "perovskite," in honor of the Russian mineralogist Lev von Perovski. Since then, many advances have been made with this newfound mineral. In the 2000s, a sharp increase in research activity related to perovskite based solar cells led to the introduction of new material formulations in the solar industry.

Why are perovskites so crucial in terms of utility?

Perovskite compounds have a chemical formula: ABX3. A and B represent cations, and X is an anion that bonds to both. Many different elements can be combined to form perovskite structures. Due to the flexibility to compose it, scientists can design perovskite crystals with a wide variety of physical, optical, and electrical characteristics.

1.) Colossal magnetoresistance: It enables materials to change their electrical resistance dramatically in the presence of a magnetic field.

2.) Ferroelectricity: Materials have a spontaneous electric polarization that can be reversed by applying an external electric field.

3.) Superconductivity: Electrical resistance vanishes and from which magnetic flux fields are expelled.

4.) Charge ordering: It is a first or second-order phase transition that occurs mostly in strongly correlated materials.

5.) High thermopower: A measure of the voltage induced in a material by the thermoelectric effect.

All photovoltaic solar cells rely on semiconductors to turn the energy from light into electricity. Semiconductors are materials in the middle ground between electrical insulators such as glass and metallic conductors such as copper. Sunlight excites electrons in the semiconductor material, which flows into conducting lectrodes and produces an electric current. Since the 1950s, silicon is the primary semiconductor material used in solar cells. Its properties align well with the spectrum of the sun's rays, relatively abundant and stable. On the downside, the large silicon crystals used in conventional solar panels require an expensive, multi-step manufacturing process. This consumes a lot of energy.

Alternatively, scientists harnessed perovskites to create semiconductors with similar properties of silicon. As a result, we have perovskite solar cells that can be manufactured using simple techniques for a fraction of the cost and energy. Moreover, the flexibility to compose perovskites allows it to be tuned to ideally match the sun's spectrum.