Researchers from the university’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, as well as the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering have earlier used the spray-on process to create solar cells with organic conductors.
The university said the new method marked the first time that scientists were able to use perovskite material.
The latest discovery is expected to cut the costs of solar electricity as perovskites consume less energy, when compared to other materials.
Lead researcher David Lidzey said: "There is a lot of excitement around perovskite based photovoltaics.
"Remarkably, this class of material offers the potential to combine the high performance of mature solar cell technologies with the low embedded energy costs of production of organic photovoltaics."
Lidzey noted that the best certified efficiencies from organic solar cells are about 10%.
The scientists said even though silicon-based solar cells are at the top spot with 25% efficiency, perovskite’s efficiency rate is now increasing, which now stands at 19%.
The spray-on perovskite solar cells are only 11% efficient and the scientists believe that the number may increase with additional research.
Lidzey said: "I believe that new thin-film photovoltaic technologies are going to have an important role to play in driving the uptake of solar-energy, and that perovskite based cells are emerging as likely thin-film candidates."
Image: The two spray heads. Photo: Courtesy of Alex Barrows.
