This structure is maintained in the synthetic variants that we can find of this material, and that allows it to have different technological applications.
Properties of perovskites
The cubic crystalline structure of this mineral allows it a certain degree of flexibility, which provides the opportunity to create numerous compounds with different properties.
As regards its physical properties, its hardness, density zimbabwe email list appearance stand out:
Hardness. On the Mohs scale it has a moderate hardness ranging between 5 and 5.5.
Density. .
Appearance. It is a mineral that is brown, yellow, grey or black in colour. It has a lustre that ranges from vitreous to subadamantine, depending on the piece. Its fracture is irregular or conchoidal.
Optical properties of particular interest for the development of solar cells:
Refractive index. Having a high refractive index, it interacts strongly with light.
Spectral absorption. It can absorb a wide range of the solar spectrum, including the visible and part of the near infrared.
Photoluminescence. It is a mineral capable of absorbing light and emitting it.
In terms of electronic properties, its charge mobility and conductivity should be highlighted:
Charge mobility. The presence of electrons and holes increases charge mobility, making electronic parts made from this material very efficient at transporting electricity.
Conductivity. Many perovskites are semiconductors with a tunable band gap, which is useful in electronic and optoelectronic devices. Other varieties have ionic conductivity, which is especially interesting in the field of fuel cells and batteries.
Among its chemical properties we must mention:
Thermal stability. They are stable at high temperatures, although there are some compositions that can degrade under certain environmental conditions such as the accumulation of humidity and oxygen.
Reactivity. It is capable of reacting with other materials. This allows its use in catalysis and other chemical processes.
All of this makes perovskite a material with significant potential in the field of technology. Current research is focusing on improving its stability against humidity, heat and light, in order to increase its useful life.
Work is also underway to develop scalable and cost-effective production methods, with a view to large-scale commercialisation.
How perovskite improves solar panels
When analyzing what perovskite is , we have seen that this material is gaining a lot of weight in the field of solar energy . Because it is used to manufacture third-generation solar cells, with a high absorption capacity and a high charge transfer, which increase the efficiency of the panels.