Factors affecting the stability of perovskite solar cells: a comprehensive review

Accelerated depletion of fossil fuel, energy demands, and pollution force us to choose renewable and eco-friendly energy resources. Solar cells are considered as an efficient replacement for fossil fuel. In the family of solar cells, silicon-based solar cells and perovskite solar cells (PSC) have displayed significant power conversion efficiency (PCE). Perovskites have been investigated extensively over the past two decades, due to their advantageous properties, such as high absorption coefficient, efficient carrier mobility, long charge diffusion length, and direct bandgap. These features make PSC a prospective candidate to replace silicon in solar cells. By 2018, PSC achieved an encouraging PCE of 23.3%. However, low stability and toxicity have retarded the commercialization of PSC. With the aim of assisting junior researchers, we consider the latest achievements in this domain and review the field from a stability and performance perspective. We emphasize recent developments and methodologies to overcome drawbacks concerning stability and toxicity. (C) 2019 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).