Graphene-Based Materials in Perovskite Solar Cells

Graphene-based materials including graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide and functionalised monolayer flakes have emerged as versatile components in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Their exceptional electrical conductivity, mechanical robustness and atomic-scale thickness allow them to function as transparent electrodes, charge-transport layers and interfacial modifiers. When incorporated into electron or hole transport layers, graphene derivatives improve carrier extraction and reduce recombination by aligning energy levels and passivating defects at the perovskite interfaces. As additives in the perovskite precursor, ultrathin graphene nanosheets serve to regulate crystal nucleation and growth, yielding dense films with larger grain size and fewer pinholes. Moreover, graphene overlayers confer environmental resilience by forming hydrophobic barriers against moisture ingress. Collectively, these advances have driven power conversion efficiencies beyond 20 % while simultaneously enhancing operational stability, thereby charting a path towards the commercial viability of PSC technology.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Seminal work introduced solution-processed nitrogen-doped graphene oxide nanoribbons as a replacement for conventional polymer-based hole transport layers. These nanoribbons form a uniform film that reduces interfacial energetic disorder, eliminating current hysteresis and improving long-term operational stability under elevated temperature conditions. The resulting devices demonstrated enhanced power conversion efficiency and negligible performance degradation compared with counterparts using standard conducting polymers, highlighting the role of graphene derivatives in optimising charge extraction and interface engineering in PSCs.

Graphene-Based Materials in Perovskite Solar Cells publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in graphene-based materials in perovskite solar cells across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Power conversion efficiency (PCE): The proportion of incident solar energy converted into electrical energy by a solar cell.

Hole transport layer (HTL): A material layer that selectively conducts positive charge carriers from the perovskite absorber to the external circuit.

Electron transport layer (ETL): A layer that facilitates selective extraction of electrons while blocking holes, minimising recombination losses.

van der Waals epitaxy: A film growth technique relying on weak interlayer forces to form high-quality crystalline interfaces on 2D substrates.

Graphene oxide (GO): A functionalised form of graphene containing oxygen groups, used to improve solubility and interfacial bonding in PSCs.

Reduced graphene oxide (rGO): Graphene oxide that has been chemically or thermally treated to partially restore the graphene lattice and electrical conductivity.

References

1. Graphene‐Like Monoelemental 2D Materials for Perovskite Solar Cells. Advanced Energy Materials (2023).
2. High‐Quality van der Waals Epitaxial CsPbBr3 Film Grown on Monolayer Graphene Covered TiO2 for High‐Performance Solar Cells. Energy & Environmental Materials (2023).
3. Stable and null current hysteresis perovskite solar cells based nitrogen doped graphene oxide nanoribbons hole transport layer. Scientific Reports (2016).
4. Graphene oxide as an additive to improve perovskite film crystallization and morphology for high-efficiency solar cells. RSC Advances (2018).
5. Reduced Graphene Oxide Improves Moisture and Thermal Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells. Cell Reports Physical Science (2020).
6. Enhancing charge extraction in inverted perovskite solar cells contacts via ultrathin graphene:fullerene composite interlayers. Journal of Materials Chemistry A (2023).