Journal article 68 views
The Impact of Dust Particles on the Function of Screen‐Printed Triple‐Mesoscopic Perovskite Solar Cells
Kathryn Lacey,
Sarah-Jane Dunlop-Potts 
,
Carys Worsley,
Rodrigo Garcia Rodriguez,
Tom Dunlop ,
Declan Hughes ,
Kris Seunarine,
Matthew Davies,
Trystan Watson
,
Carys Worsley,
Rodrigo Garcia Rodriguez,
Tom Dunlop ,
Declan Hughes ,
Kris Seunarine,
Matthew Davies,
Trystan Watson
Small, Start page: e73299
Swansea University Authors:
Kathryn Lacey, Sarah-Jane Dunlop-Potts , Carys Worsley, Rodrigo Garcia Rodriguez, Tom Dunlop , Declan Hughes , Kris Seunarine, Trystan Watson
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DOI (Published version): 10.1002/smll.73299
Abstract
Screen-printed mesoporous carbon perovskite solar cells (m-CPSCs) offer a low-cost manufacturing approach that could significantly reduce upscaling costs, providing an accessible pathway to green energy production opening new opportunities in countries where this is currently cost-prohibitive. Clean...
| Published in: | Small |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1613-6810 1613-6829 |
| Published: |
Wiley
2026
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| Online Access: |
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71704 |
| first_indexed |
2026-04-01T11:11:32Z |
|---|---|
| last_indexed |
2026-05-01T04:24:31Z |
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SURis |
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<?xml version="1.0"?><rfc1807><datestamp>2026-04-29T12:00:44.8761793</datestamp><bib-version>v2</bib-version><id>71704</id><entry>2026-04-01</entry><title>The Impact of Dust Particles on the Function of Screen‐Printed Triple‐Mesoscopic Perovskite Solar Cells</title><swanseaauthors><author><sid>a482d8085289c43024bb5ccaa5bfde3d</sid><ORCID/><firstname>Kathryn</firstname><surname>Lacey</surname><name>Kathryn Lacey</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author><author><sid>8c536622ba65fa1e04912d0e2ede88f7</sid><ORCID>0000-0003-0208-2364</ORCID><firstname>Sarah-Jane</firstname><surname>Dunlop-Potts</surname><name>Sarah-Jane Dunlop-Potts</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author><author><sid>e74e27838a54d9df1fe7c5ee2cb8a126</sid><ORCID/><firstname>Carys</firstname><surname>Worsley</surname><name>Carys Worsley</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author><author><sid>fb0f6e1eeb02aedee895b457faa35445</sid><ORCID/><firstname>Rodrigo</firstname><surname>Garcia Rodriguez</surname><name>Rodrigo Garcia Rodriguez</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author><author><sid>809395460ab1e6b53a906b136d919c41</sid><ORCID>0000-0002-5851-8713</ORCID><firstname>Tom</firstname><surname>Dunlop</surname><name>Tom Dunlop</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author><author><sid>5590b62d833b89a43926267b2b7a5c29</sid><ORCID>0000-0001-6415-3717</ORCID><firstname>Declan</firstname><surname>Hughes</surname><name>Declan Hughes</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author><author><sid>38fae8a94d88645c1b29fbd448a1c981</sid><ORCID/><firstname>Kris</firstname><surname>Seunarine</surname><name>Kris Seunarine</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author><author><sid>a210327b52472cfe8df9b8108d661457</sid><ORCID>0000-0002-8015-1436</ORCID><firstname>Trystan</firstname><surname>Watson</surname><name>Trystan Watson</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author></swanseaauthors><date>2026-04-01</date><deptcode>EAAS</deptcode><abstract>Screen-printed mesoporous carbon perovskite solar cells (m-CPSCs) offer a low-cost manufacturing approach that could significantly reduce upscaling costs, providing an accessible pathway to green energy production opening new opportunities in countries where this is currently cost-prohibitive. Clean rooms represent a very expensive investment and overhead, presenting a significant barrier to reducing production cost. Despite this, very little research has been carried out to determine whether a clean room is essential to PSC manufacture. This study examines how organic dust particle contaminants (1–10 µm) impact screen-printed m-CPSCs. Unexpectedly, cells with contamination between layers showed no significant difference in PCE compared to pristine controls. Dust in pastes affected print quality more severely, negatively impacting the quality of subsequent layers and leading to inconsistencies in print quality, compounding problems further along in the manufacturing process if screens and pastes are not kept free from such contamination. These findings suggest that screen-printed solar cells can be produced outside of clean rooms if high cleanliness standards are maintained during storage and print runs. This outcome is significant for low-cost PSC printing, indicating that it may be possible to produce high performing modules in industrial setups without expensive clean room installation and management.</abstract><type>Journal Article</type><journal>Small</journal><volume>0</volume><journalNumber/><paginationStart>e73299</paginationStart><paginationEnd/><publisher>Wiley</publisher><placeOfPublication/><isbnPrint/><isbnElectronic/><issnPrint>1613-6810</issnPrint><issnElectronic>1613-6829</issnElectronic><keywords>carbon, cleanroom, dust, mesoporous, perovskite, screen printing</keywords><publishedDay>7</publishedDay><publishedMonth>4</publishedMonth><publishedYear>2026</publishedYear><publishedDate>2026-04-07</publishedDate><doi>10.1002/smll.73299</doi><url/><notes/><college>COLLEGE NANME</college><department>Engineering and Applied Sciences School</department><CollegeCode>COLLEGE CODE</CollegeCode><DepartmentCode>EAAS</DepartmentCode><institution>Swansea University</institution><apcterm>SU Library paid the OA fee (TA Institutional Deal)</apcterm><funders>This work was made possible by funding from the STRIP5 project funded by EPSRC Prosperity Partnership [EP/X025217/1]. Additional support was received from the SPECIFIC Innovation and Knowledge Centre by the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council Program Grant ATIP (Application Targeted and Integrated Photovoltaics) [EP/T028513/1], and from the UK Government's Ayrton Challenge through the International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF) as part of the REACH-PSM project (UKRI319), in addition to the Advanced Imaging of Materials (AIM) facility at Swansea University, which was funded in part by the EPSRC [EP/M028267/1].</funders><projectreference/><lastEdited>2026-04-29T12:00:44.8761793</lastEdited><Created>2026-04-01T12:08:58.5003662</Created><path><level id="1">Faculty of Science and Engineering</level><level id="2">School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Materials Science and Engineering</level></path><authors><author><firstname>Kathryn</firstname><surname>Lacey</surname><orcid/><order>1</order></author><author><firstname>Sarah-Jane</firstname><surname>Dunlop-Potts</surname><orcid>0000-0003-0208-2364</orcid><order>2</order></author><author><firstname>Carys</firstname><surname>Worsley</surname><orcid/><order>3</order></author><author><firstname>Rodrigo</firstname><surname>Garcia Rodriguez</surname><orcid/><order>4</order></author><author><firstname>Tom</firstname><surname>Dunlop</surname><orcid>0000-0002-5851-8713</orcid><order>5</order></author><author><firstname>Declan</firstname><surname>Hughes</surname><orcid>0000-0001-6415-3717</orcid><order>6</order></author><author><firstname>Kris</firstname><surname>Seunarine</surname><orcid/><order>7</order></author><author><firstname>Matthew</firstname><surname>Davies</surname><order>8</order></author><author><firstname>Trystan</firstname><surname>Watson</surname><orcid>0000-0002-8015-1436</orcid><order>9</order></author></authors><documents><document><filename>71704__36634__339e1e9f24fa4a1f8c12fe0d4b7fd508.pdf</filename><originalFilename>71704.VOR.pdf</originalFilename><uploaded>2026-04-29T11:58:22.2457946</uploaded><type>Output</type><contentLength>3871030</contentLength><contentType>application/pdf</contentType><version>Version of Record</version><cronfaStatus>true</cronfaStatus><documentNotes>© 2026 The Author(s). 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2026-04-29T12:00:44.8761793 v2 71704 2026-04-01 The Impact of Dust Particles on the Function of Screen‐Printed Triple‐Mesoscopic Perovskite Solar Cells a482d8085289c43024bb5ccaa5bfde3d Kathryn Lacey Kathryn Lacey true false 8c536622ba65fa1e04912d0e2ede88f7 0000-0003-0208-2364 Sarah-Jane Dunlop-Potts Sarah-Jane Dunlop-Potts true false e74e27838a54d9df1fe7c5ee2cb8a126 Carys Worsley Carys Worsley true false fb0f6e1eeb02aedee895b457faa35445 Rodrigo Garcia Rodriguez Rodrigo Garcia Rodriguez true false 809395460ab1e6b53a906b136d919c41 0000-0002-5851-8713 Tom Dunlop Tom Dunlop true false 5590b62d833b89a43926267b2b7a5c29 0000-0001-6415-3717 Declan Hughes Declan Hughes true false 38fae8a94d88645c1b29fbd448a1c981 Kris Seunarine Kris Seunarine true false a210327b52472cfe8df9b8108d661457 0000-0002-8015-1436 Trystan Watson Trystan Watson true false 2026-04-01 EAAS Screen-printed mesoporous carbon perovskite solar cells (m-CPSCs) offer a low-cost manufacturing approach that could significantly reduce upscaling costs, providing an accessible pathway to green energy production opening new opportunities in countries where this is currently cost-prohibitive. Clean rooms represent a very expensive investment and overhead, presenting a significant barrier to reducing production cost. Despite this, very little research has been carried out to determine whether a clean room is essential to PSC manufacture. This study examines how organic dust particle contaminants (1–10 µm) impact screen-printed m-CPSCs. Unexpectedly, cells with contamination between layers showed no significant difference in PCE compared to pristine controls. Dust in pastes affected print quality more severely, negatively impacting the quality of subsequent layers and leading to inconsistencies in print quality, compounding problems further along in the manufacturing process if screens and pastes are not kept free from such contamination. These findings suggest that screen-printed solar cells can be produced outside of clean rooms if high cleanliness standards are maintained during storage and print runs. This outcome is significant for low-cost PSC printing, indicating that it may be possible to produce high performing modules in industrial setups without expensive clean room installation and management. Journal Article Small 0 e73299 Wiley 1613-6810 1613-6829 carbon, cleanroom, dust, mesoporous, perovskite, screen printing 7 4 2026 2026-04-07 10.1002/smll.73299 COLLEGE NANME Engineering and Applied Sciences School COLLEGE CODE EAAS Swansea University SU Library paid the OA fee (TA Institutional Deal) This work was made possible by funding from the STRIP5 project funded by EPSRC Prosperity Partnership [EP/X025217/1]. Additional support was received from the SPECIFIC Innovation and Knowledge Centre by the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council Program Grant ATIP (Application Targeted and Integrated Photovoltaics) [EP/T028513/1], and from the UK Government's Ayrton Challenge through the International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF) as part of the REACH-PSM project (UKRI319), in addition to the Advanced Imaging of Materials (AIM) facility at Swansea University, which was funded in part by the EPSRC [EP/M028267/1]. 2026-04-29T12:00:44.8761793 2026-04-01T12:08:58.5003662 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Materials Science and Engineering Kathryn Lacey 1 Sarah-Jane Dunlop-Potts 0000-0003-0208-2364 2 Carys Worsley 3 Rodrigo Garcia Rodriguez 4 Tom Dunlop 0000-0002-5851-8713 5 Declan Hughes 0000-0001-6415-3717 6 Kris Seunarine 7 Matthew Davies 8 Trystan Watson 0000-0002-8015-1436 9 71704__36634__339e1e9f24fa4a1f8c12fe0d4b7fd508.pdf 71704.VOR.pdf 2026-04-29T11:58:22.2457946 Output 3871030 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2026 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| title |
The Impact of Dust Particles on the Function of Screen‐Printed Triple‐Mesoscopic Perovskite Solar Cells |
| spellingShingle |
The Impact of Dust Particles on the Function of Screen‐Printed Triple‐Mesoscopic Perovskite Solar Cells Kathryn Lacey Sarah-Jane Dunlop-Potts Carys Worsley Rodrigo Garcia Rodriguez Tom Dunlop Declan Hughes Kris Seunarine Trystan Watson |
| title_short |
The Impact of Dust Particles on the Function of Screen‐Printed Triple‐Mesoscopic Perovskite Solar Cells |
| title_full |
The Impact of Dust Particles on the Function of Screen‐Printed Triple‐Mesoscopic Perovskite Solar Cells |
| title_fullStr |
The Impact of Dust Particles on the Function of Screen‐Printed Triple‐Mesoscopic Perovskite Solar Cells |
| title_full_unstemmed |
The Impact of Dust Particles on the Function of Screen‐Printed Triple‐Mesoscopic Perovskite Solar Cells |
| title_sort |
The Impact of Dust Particles on the Function of Screen‐Printed Triple‐Mesoscopic Perovskite Solar Cells |
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a482d8085289c43024bb5ccaa5bfde3d 8c536622ba65fa1e04912d0e2ede88f7 e74e27838a54d9df1fe7c5ee2cb8a126 fb0f6e1eeb02aedee895b457faa35445 809395460ab1e6b53a906b136d919c41 5590b62d833b89a43926267b2b7a5c29 38fae8a94d88645c1b29fbd448a1c981 a210327b52472cfe8df9b8108d661457 |
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a482d8085289c43024bb5ccaa5bfde3d_***_Kathryn Lacey 8c536622ba65fa1e04912d0e2ede88f7_***_Sarah-Jane Dunlop-Potts e74e27838a54d9df1fe7c5ee2cb8a126_***_Carys Worsley fb0f6e1eeb02aedee895b457faa35445_***_Rodrigo Garcia Rodriguez 809395460ab1e6b53a906b136d919c41_***_Tom Dunlop 5590b62d833b89a43926267b2b7a5c29_***_Declan Hughes 38fae8a94d88645c1b29fbd448a1c981_***_Kris Seunarine a210327b52472cfe8df9b8108d661457_***_Trystan Watson |
| author |
Kathryn Lacey Sarah-Jane Dunlop-Potts Carys Worsley Rodrigo Garcia Rodriguez Tom Dunlop Declan Hughes Kris Seunarine Trystan Watson |
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Kathryn Lacey Sarah-Jane Dunlop-Potts Carys Worsley Rodrigo Garcia Rodriguez Tom Dunlop Declan Hughes Kris Seunarine Matthew Davies Trystan Watson |
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2026 |
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10.1002/smll.73299 |
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Wiley |
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| description |
Screen-printed mesoporous carbon perovskite solar cells (m-CPSCs) offer a low-cost manufacturing approach that could significantly reduce upscaling costs, providing an accessible pathway to green energy production opening new opportunities in countries where this is currently cost-prohibitive. Clean rooms represent a very expensive investment and overhead, presenting a significant barrier to reducing production cost. Despite this, very little research has been carried out to determine whether a clean room is essential to PSC manufacture. This study examines how organic dust particle contaminants (1–10 µm) impact screen-printed m-CPSCs. Unexpectedly, cells with contamination between layers showed no significant difference in PCE compared to pristine controls. Dust in pastes affected print quality more severely, negatively impacting the quality of subsequent layers and leading to inconsistencies in print quality, compounding problems further along in the manufacturing process if screens and pastes are not kept free from such contamination. These findings suggest that screen-printed solar cells can be produced outside of clean rooms if high cleanliness standards are maintained during storage and print runs. This outcome is significant for low-cost PSC printing, indicating that it may be possible to produce high performing modules in industrial setups without expensive clean room installation and management. |
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2026-04-07T05:24:31Z |
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11.283446 |