Unbreakable Phone Screens Could Be Made With a New Material
4th February 2022
The original perovskite, calcium titanium oxide, is a mineral (see picture) discovered in the Ural mountains in 1839 and named after Count Lev Perovski, a Russian mineralogist. Since then, the name has come to be used for a number of materials that share a similar crystal structure.
Much of the interest in perovskites comes because those which combine metal atoms with chlorine, bromine or iodine (members of a group of elements called halogens) are semiconductors. This makes them potentially useful in a variety of electronics. In particular, one promising feature of metal halides is that they can be used to make new types of solar cells which are more efficient at converting sunlight into electricity than the silicon-based cells currently employed. Oxford PV, a British company, is bringing some of the first perovskite solar cells to market.