Talking Climate · The Wilkes Center for Climate Science and Policy

27: Could Low-dimensional Perovskites Advance Cleaner Refrigerants and Batteries?

·29 min·1 clip

Meltable perovskites can be heated to 100 to 150 degrees Celsius and made into films without solvents.

Ross Chambliss opens with perovskites. He describes them as crystal structures that can be manufactured in labs for making solar panels, and he frames their promise as a relatively cost-effective, efficient thin-film alternative to more common silicon-based panels. The risks come next. Some perovskite solar cells are unstable, and lead can appear as a toxic byproduct when processing them, so the material's promise always sits beside the work needed to make it usable. The conversation widens. Maladir says perovskite-based materials could also have green energy potential as batteries and as alternatives to modern refrigerants that use chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, which are also strong greenhouse gases. Her lab work is the center of the interview. She is a Wilkes Center-funded postdoctoral researcher in Professor Conor Bischak's lab in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Utah, where she manipulates three-dimensional, two-dimensional, and one-dimensional perovskite crystals into various combinations and shapes, all with the hope of discovering a new combination that could become the next clean energy breakthrough. Processing is a major thread. She explains that making perovskite films often uses solvents, then heat to evaporate the solvent, while meltable perovskites can be heated instead, melted, cooled, and dried into films without that step. That matters environmentally. The solvents themselves are described as hazardous to the environment, so removing them becomes part of the appeal. The chemistry gets more specific. She and other researchers try to suppress melting temperature by tuning the A, B, and X sites, including the size of the A cations. One result stands out. Her work with ethylene glycol-based perovskites brought the melting temperature down from about 120 degrees Celsius to 98 degrees Celsius by blending different length ethylene glycol chains. That is low enough to matter. The segment closes with Maladir describing herself as more of a homebody, someone who likes cooking, relaxing, and spending time with her husband after work.

As heard by us

Perovskites, explained through the processing choices that could shape cleaner energy hardware.

Talking Climate spends this hour on perovskites, and Ross Chambliss gives the topic a clear frame: these lab-made crystal structures matter for solar panels, even as the science gets more complicated fast.

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If you want climate chemistry that still feels tied to real hardware, this one stays specific.

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