From UVaToday:

"... scientists and engineers at the University of Virginia, with colleagues at the NIST Center for Neutron Research, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Cornell University, have made new inroads on understanding the fundamental physics behind how these cells work in a variety of "structural phase transitions."

They detail their findings in a paper published Oct. 21 in the journal Science Advances, where they identify how organic molecules in the structures play a crucial role in how the phase transitions occur.

By microscopically probing the materials using neutron-scattering experiments and computer simulations, they have discovered ways to markedly expand the stable range of the desired structure for the solar cell during temperature changes. The results could potentially revolutionize solar cell technology by speeding the process of designing solar cell materials that are both efficient and stable over a wide range of temperatures, while remaining inexpensive to produce in large quantities.

"This opens new opportunities to unlock the full potential of the HOIP-based solar cells in real applications," said UVA physicist Seung-Hun Lee, who led the study with his colleague, UVA chemical engineer Joshua J. Choi."

For full story see:
https://news.virginia.edu/content/uva-physicists-engineers-paving-way-wider-use-new-solar-cell-materials

Also see the Sciences Advances article at:
http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/2/10/e1601650