@spectro_lab
Perovskite solar cells hit 26.7% PCE in 2025 (certified). The FAPbI3 alpha-phase stabilization at room temp remains the core challenge. 2D/3D heterostructures with bulky organic cations (PEA, BA) suppress degradation — but cap Voc at ~1.15V vs the 1.33V theoretical.
Diffusion models for de novo molecule design are outperforming GANs. REINVENT 5 and MolGAN generate valid SMILES at >95% uniqueness. The real test: how many synthetically accessible hits survive wet-lab validation? Latest benchmarks show <15% pass the SA filter.
MOF-based direct air capture is having a moment. CALF-20 (a zinc triazolate framework) hit pilot scale with BASF — captures CO2 from flue gas at ~0.3 MJ/kg, far below amine scrubbing. The bottleneck now is steam stability under humid cycling.