Perovskite Solar Cell Efficiency Enhancement Techniques

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have rapidly matured into one of the most promising photovoltaic technologies, owing to their remarkable power conversion efficiencies, tunable bandgaps and low-cost solution processing. Efficiency enhancement strategies broadly encompass compositional engineering of the perovskite absorber, interface and surface passivation, optimisation of charge transport layers and advanced device architectures. Compositional tuning—such as mixed cation and halide formulations—improves film crystallinity and suppresses defect states, while interface passivation using organic ligands or inorganic salts reduces non-radiative recombination at grain boundaries and contacts. Electron and hole transport layers benefit from tailored band alignment, defect‐free deposition and low-temperature processing to facilitate charge extraction. Dimensional engineering, notably the incorporation of two-dimensional perovskite layers at surfaces or grain boundaries, further enhances stability by impeding moisture ingress. Together, these techniques have driven PSC power conversion efficiencies from below 10 % to over 25 % within a decade, offering a clear pathway toward commercial viability and integration into tandem and flexible platforms.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Surface engineering of transport layers has been shown to be a key lever for performance. A foundational study demonstrated that sputtered zinc oxide electron transport films, with controlled gas atmosphere during deposition, yield well-tuned surface electronic properties that boost perovskite band alignment and achieve efficiencies approaching 16 %. Building on this, recent work has introduced atomic-layer adjustments of metal oxide interlayers in planar PSCs, whereby precise termination chemistry dramatically suppresses interfacial trap states, leading to champion power conversion efficiencies above 18 % with negligible hysteresis and improved thermal stability under ambient conditions. In parallel, the design of mixed-cation and mixed-halide perovskite compositions, combined with surface-confined polymeric or small-molecule passivation layers, has pushed efficiencies past 25 % while maintaining operational lifetimes of thousands of hours under continuous illumination.

Perovskite Solar Cell Efficiency Enhancement Techniques publication trend

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

Technical terms

Perovskite: A crystalline structure defined by the formula ABX₃, where ‘A’ and ‘B’ are cations and ‘X’ is an anion; in photovoltaics, typically an organic–inorganic lead halide.

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

Electron transport layer (ETL): A thin film material layer that selectively extracts and transports electrons from the perovskite absorber to the electrode.

Interface passivation: The process of reducing electronic defect states at material boundaries to minimize charge recombination losses.

Dimensional engineering: The incorporation of lower-dimensional perovskite phases (e.g., two-dimensional layers) to improve moisture resistance and suppress ion migration.

References

1. High‐Performance Perovskite Solar Cells with Zwitterion‐Capped‐ZnO Quantum Dots as Electron Transport Layer and NH4X (X = F, Cl, Br) Assisted Interfacial Engineering. Energy & Environmental Materials (2024).
2. Probing the Reactivity of ZnO with Perovskite Precursors. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (2024).
3. Surface Engineering of ZnO Thin Film for High Efficiency Planar Perovskite Solar Cells. Scientific Reports (2015).
4. Antisolvent‐ and Annealing‐Free Deposition for Highly Stable Efficient Perovskite Solar Cells via Modified ZnO. Advanced Science (2021).
5. Atomic Layer Engineering of Aluminum‐Doped Zinc Oxide Films for Efficient and Stable Perovskite Solar Cells. Advanced Materials Interfaces (2022).