The last time I wrestled directly with the playful, mysterious and dangerous world of chemistry was during my final days of school, when as a prank I dropped a vial of potassium permanganate into the school’s water tanks. It was a joy to see the taps and the toilets run vivid purple and to watch the panic and consternation of school staff, who still today don’t know how it happened.
A paper published by the Royal Society of Chemistry talks of perovskite solar panels as “a strong candidate for future terawatt-scale renewable energy generation” and predicts this will lead to solar overtaking natural gas as the world’s leading energy source in 2026, and coal by 2027.
Perovskite solar modules have generated excitement because the perovskite “skin” can be 100 times thinner than silicon-based panels and significantly lighter. They can in theory cover the walls and roofs of buildings, stadiums, an array of curvy surfaces, aircraft, mobile phones and a wide range of wearable devices, bringing electricity everywhere.
