Unlocking interfaces in photovoltaics

Demand for energy in the context of climate change is driving rapid deployment of low-cost renewable energy and is accelerating efforts to deliver advanced photovoltaic (PV) technologies. In the past decade, the steeply rising solar-to-electrical power conversion efficiency of metal-halide perovskit...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Xiao, Y, Yang, X, Zhu, R, Snaith, HJ
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science 2024
Description
Summary:Demand for energy in the context of climate change is driving rapid deployment of low-cost renewable energy and is accelerating efforts to deliver advanced photovoltaic (PV) technologies. In the past decade, the steeply rising solar-to-electrical power conversion efficiency of metal-halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) make them a compelling candidate for next-generation PVs, with interesting applications envisaged beyond traditional solar plants. These include building integrated PVs, flexible solar-powered electronics, and solar vehicles and aircraft. Metal-halide perovskites benefit from the low formation energy for crystallization, a consequence of their ionic nature, which enables close to ambient-temperature solution or vapor-phase deposition and a thin-film crystallization process. However, the ease by which rapid crystallization occurs also introduces defects and local heterogeneities throughout the perovskite films and at internal interfaces, which limits their efficiency (1).