Inorganic Perovskite Solar Cell Technologies

Inorganic perovskite solar cells employ all-inorganic metal halide perovskites, typically cesium lead halides with the ABX₃ crystal structure, as light-harvesting semiconductors. By replacing organic cations with inorganic cesium, these materials offer superior thermal and phase stability compared to hybrid counterparts. Key research has focused on bandgap tuning through halide composition (I, Br, Cl) and dopant incorporation, as well as on mitigating ion migration and environmental degradation via surface and interface engineering. Advanced deposition methods—from low-temperature crystallisation to molecular chelation—have led to defect-passivated films, enabling power conversion efficiencies beyond 20% and operational lifetimes under continuous illumination that approach commercial requirements. Integration into tandem architectures further highlights their global potential for scalable, high-efficiency photovoltaics.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have demonstrated surface chelation strategies to passivate defects in all-inorganic CsPbI₂Br perovskites. A bidentate chelating agent binds strongly to lead sites, reducing under-coordinated defects and achieving champion efficiencies of around 17% alongside exceptional ambient stability over 1,400 hours. Complementary work on barium doping in mixed-halide CsPbI₂Br revealed that intentional phase segregation can adjust the iodide/bromide ratio to lower the bandgap and suppress non-radiative recombination, delivering devices with efficiencies near 14% and open-circuit voltages exceeding 1.3 V. These advances underscore the critical role of molecular-level surface design and compositional modulation in driving performance gains.

Inorganic Perovskite Solar Cell Technologies publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in inorganic perovskite solar cell technologies across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Perovskite crystal structure: A cubic lattice of corner-sharing BX₆ octahedra surrounding A-site cations, defining the ABX₃ stoichiometry.

Halide perovskite: A perovskite in which the X site is occupied by a halide ion (I⁻, Br⁻ or Cl⁻), forming light-absorbing metal halide semiconductors.

Surface passivation: The reduction of electronic defects at the perovskite surface or grain boundaries by chemical treatments or molecular coatings.

Phase segregation: The controlled separation of distinct compositional domains within a mixed-halide perovskite to tune optical and electronic properties.

Electron transport layer (ETL): A semiconducting interlayer that selectively extracts and transports photogenerated electrons from the perovskite absorber toward the electrode.

Power conversion efficiency (PCE): The ratio of electrical power output to incident solar power input under standard testing conditions.

References

1. Surface chelation of cesium halide perovskite by dithiocarbamate for efficient and stable solar cells. Nature Communications (2020).
2. Ba-induced phase segregation and band gap reduction in mixed-halide inorganic perovskite solar cells. Nature Communications (2019).
3. Quantifying Efficiency Limitations in All‐Inorganic Halide Perovskite Solar Cells. Advanced Materials (2022).
4. ZnO electron transporting layer engineering realized over 20% efficiency and over 1.28 V open‐circuit voltage in all‐inorganic perovskite solar cells. EcoMat (2022).
5. Implementing Dopant-Free Hole-Transporting Layers and Metal-Incorporated CsPbI2Br for Stable All-Inorganic Perovskite Solar Cells. ACS Energy Letters (2021).