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Advances in Perovskite Solar Cells

REVIEW
Chuantian Zuo, Henk J. Bolink, Hongwei Han, Jinsong Huang, David Cahen,*
and Liming Ding*

widely commercialized, but possiblities

Organolead halide perovskite materials possess a combination of remarkable to increase their performance are limited,
optoelectronic properties, such as steep optical absorption edge and high because nowadays the so-called balance of
absorption coefficients, long charge carrier diffusion lengths and lifetimes. systems (BoS) cost of PV modules makes
up most of the cost.[1] As much of the BoS
Taken together with the ability for low temperature preparation, also from
scales with area, performance improve-
solution, perovskite-based devices, especially photovoltaic (PV) cells have been ment seems the only way to decrease the
studied intensively, with remarkable progress in performance, over the past cost of PV power further. Therefore, new
few years. The combination of high efficiency, low cost and additional (non-PV) PV cells are sought either to allow for
applications provides great potential for commercialization. Performance and higher efficiencies than what is possible
with Si PV without cost increase, or, as
applications of perovskite solar cells often correlate with their device struc-
explained in section 3.4, to provide low-
tures. Many innovative device structures were developed, aiming at large-scale cost added efficiency to Si PV. Emerging
fabrication, reducing fabrication cost, enhancing the power conversion effi- solar cells such as dye-sensitized, bulk-
ciency and thus broadening potential future applications. This review summa- heterojunction and quantum-dot solar
rizes typical structures of perovskite solar cells and comments on novel device cells can be fabricated via low-temperature
structures. The applications of perovskite solar cells are discussed. solution processing, that holds promise
for low-cost large scale application, but
best power conversion efficiencies (PCE)
are half of, or less than that of the best
1. Introduction commercial Si PV cells.[2] This is where perovskite solar cells
enter, as for the first time in PV history it is possible to pro-
Solar energy is clean and nearly inexhaustible. To harvest solar duce high-efficiency cells at low monetary and energy costs,
energy is a promising approach to solve the energy problem with apparent ease of fabrication from earth-abundant, readily
of human beings. Photovoltaic (PV) cells can be an effective available raw materials. The PCE for perovskite solar cells has
way to convert solar energy directly into electricity without any increased from 2.2% to 20.1% since 2006, showing an inviting
moving parts. Solar cells based on crystalline silicon are by now vista of commercialization.[3,4]
Perovskite solar cells are named after the crystal structure of
the light absorbers, the structure of the mineral CaTiO3. Many
C. Zuo, Prof. L. Ding
National Center for Nanoscience and Technology compounds with ABX3 stoichiometry take this structure, where
Beijing 100190, P.R. China A and B are 12- and 8-coordinates cations, respectively, and X is
E-mail: ding@nanoctr.cn the anion.[4] Of the many ABX3 only few are suitable to be effi-
Prof. D. Cahen cient light absorbers for solar cells due to requirements such
Department of Materials and Interfaces as appropriate bandgap for good light-harvesting ability, energy
Weizmann Institute of Science
Rehovot 76100, Israel
level/band alignment with contacting materials, long charge car-
E-mail: David.Cahen@Weizmann.ac.il rier lifetime, τ, and high mobility, µ. Perovskites generally have
Prof. H. J. Bolink divalent anions, and the strong electrostatic bonding mostly
Instituto de Ciencia Molecular makes their (high) bandgaps not suitable for solar PV. Mitzi
Universidad de Valencia et al. initiated using perovskites containing halides, ammonium
Valencia 46022, Spain cations and Sn2+ in optoelectronic devices, which formed the
Prof. H. Han basis for the development of perovskites for solar cells.[5] Here
Michael Grätzel Center for Mesoscopic Solar Cells
Huazhong University of Science and Technology we will focus on such halide perovskites, together with one
Wuhan 430074, P.R. China divalent (Pb2+) and one monovalent (mostly CH3NH3+) cation.
Prof. J. Huang The most efficient halide perovskite solar absorbers consist of
Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering organic ammonium ions (CH3NH3+ or NH = CHNH3+), Pb2+
University of Nebraska-Lincoln and halide ions (I−, Br−).[4] CH3NH3PbI3 possesses broad and
Lincoln, NE 68588, USA
intense light absorption. It is an ambipolar semiconductor (can
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons be n- or p-type), and its charge carriers can have long diffusion
Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in
any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
lengths and lifetimes, which allow excellent PCE for solar cells
made with it.[3–6] Another advantage of perovskite absorbers is
DOI: 10.1002/advs.201500324 the low-temperature solution-processing ability, which helps

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to reduce fabrication cost. While other optoelectronic devices

based on lead halide perovskite materials have been made, David Cahen studied
such as lasers,[7] photodetectors[8] and light emitting diodes,[9] chemistry and physics at
solar cells based on these materials are the most widely studied the Hebrew University of
devices. Jerusalem (HUJ), materials
Here, we summarize the important progress of perovskite chemistry at Northwestern
solar cells by reviewing much of the milestone work since 2006. University, and biophysics of
Key factors influencing device performance are discussed. photosynthesis at HUJ and
Perovskites started out as light absorbers in “dye-sensitized” the Weizmann Institute of
cells, but are nowadays nearly exclusively studied as absorbers Science (WIS). After joining
in solid state, thin film-like PV cell structures. Numerous cell the WIS he specialized in
types spanning a variety of device architectures have been alternative sustainable energy
reported. Further innovation may help to develop high perfor- resources; his work today is
mance devices and to explore new applications. At the same divided between perovskite solar cells and peptides and
time, some problems need to be tackled and solved or circum- proteins for bio-optoelectronics. He is a fellow of AVS
vented, including the origin of hysteresis in current–voltage and MRS. He heads WIS’ Alternative, sustainable energy
curves, and concomitant issues on experimentally measured research initiative.
efficiencies and, more generally, electrical performances that
are reported; reproducibility of sample and device preparations, Liming Ding obtained his
properties and performance; and up-scaling. Ph.D. from the University of
Science and Technology of
China. He started his research
2. Common Structures for Perovskite Solar Cells on polymer solar cells and
polymer light emitting diodes
2.1. Liquid-Electrolyte Dye-Sensitized Cells in Olle Inganäs Lab in
1998. Later on, he worked
These cells consist of a transparent conducting oxide (TCO) with Frank Karasz and Tom
substrate, nanoporous TiO2, a perovskite sensitizer, an electro- Russell at PSE, UMASS
lyte and a metal counter electrode (Figure 1a). CH3NH3PbBr3 Amherst. He joined Konarka
was first used as the sensitizer for TiO2 in dye-sensitized solar as a Senior Scientist in
cells, and the cells gave a PCE of 2.2%.[10] When CH3NH3PbI3 2008. In 2010, he joined National Center for Nanoscience
was used as the sensitizer, a 3.8% PCE was achieved.[11] The and Technology as a Full Professor. Currently, his work
lower bandgap and wider absorption spectrum of the iodide focuses on perovskite solar cells and BHJ solar cells.
absorber led to an enhanced short-circuit current density (Jsc).
A 6.5% PCE was achieved via optimizing the preparation of
CH3NH3PbI3 and TiO2 nanoparticles.[12] Research on liquid-
electrolyte dye-sensitized cells did not continue because these
cells are highly unstable (80% decrease in PCE in 10 min) and of electrons into the wide bandgap Al2O3 is not possible, and
no suitable liquid electrolyte was found in which the absorber also, that both electrons and holes can be transported in the
was stable. We note that a battery effect might have been perovskite. The absence of the liquid electrolyte significantly
involved in these cells, which could increase output power, as a improved the stability of the devices.[13,14]
result of the free energy gain from a chemical reaction. The cells with mesoporous structure generally consist of a
TCO (FTO or ITO), a hole blocking layer, a mesoporous TiO2
or Al2O3 scaffold, the perovskite absorber, a hole transport
2.2. Mesoporous Structure layer (HTL) and the metal electrode (Figure 1b). The mor-
phology (surface coverage, grain size and uniformity, rough-
Kim et al. successfully fabricated first solid-state perovs- ness, etc.) for the perovskite layer affects device performance
kite solar cells using a solid-state hole transport material significantly.[3d] CH3NH3PbI3 films with a better morphology
(HTM) called 2,2′,7,7′-tetrakis(N,N-di-p-methoxyphenylamine)-9,9′ were obtained by using a two-step deposition method. Dip-
-spirobifluorene (spiro-OMeTAD).[13] A 9.7% PCE was obtained ping a TiO2/PbI2 composite film into a 2-propanol solution of
by using the CH3NH3PbI3 absorber and a mesoporous TiO2 CH3NH3I led to the in situ formation of CH3NH3PbI3. Using
scaffold. Meanwhile, Lee et al. achieved a 10.9% PCE by using this approach to prepare solar cells led to a 15.0% PCE and an
what was thought to be a mixed-halide perovskite absorber improved reproducibility.[15] Jeon et al. improved the uniformity
(CH3NH3PbI3–xClx) (It is not clear if there is a stoichiometric and density of the perovskite layers by solvent engineering,
amount of Cl present in these films. While throughout this and achieved a certified PCE of 16.2% and improved stability
report we will use the formula CH3NH3PbI3–xClx, likely often for CH3NH3Pb(I1–xBrx)3 (x = 0.1–0.15) cells.[16] Im et al. devel-
only traces of Cl are present, which in the literature is at times oped a two-step spin-coating procedure to prepare CH3NH3PbI3
reflected by CH3NH3PbI3(Cl)) and Al2O3 scaffold.[14] The results cuboids with controlled size and achieved a PCE of 17.0%.[17] In
indicated that the cell need not be a sensitized one as injection a further development, Jeon et al. stabilized the crystal structure

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Figure 1. Typical structures for perovskite solar cells. TCO: transparent conducting oxide; HTL: hole transport layer; ETL: electron transport layer.

of formamidinium lead iodide (FAPbI3), which has a lower n-i-p or p-i-n one, based on the sequence of functional layers
bandgap than that of CH3NH3PbI3, by incorporating methyl- in the device starting from the layer onto which light is incident.
ammonium lead bromide (MAPbBr3), achieving a certified PCE The general structure for planar n-i-p perovskite solar cells is
of 17.9%.[18] Recently, they achieved a certified PCE of 20.1% shown in Figure 1c. Compact TiO2 or ZnO films are often used
from FAPbI3 cells prepared via an intramolecular exchange as hole blocking layers or electron-transport layers (ETLs). Ball
method.[19] It should be noted that all these high efficiency et al. first reported perovskite solar cells with a planar structure
values were obtained from small cells (<1 cm2), and that it is of FTO/compact TiO2/perovskite/spiro-OMeTAD/Au.[23] The
not always clear if hysteresis was considered when reporting same group (Eperon et al.) then reported planar heterojunction
the photocurrent, photovoltage, fill factor and PCE of a cell.[20] perovskite solar cells with an 11.4% PCE by optimizing the pro-
Besides a high efficiency, the cost and stability should cessing conditions (atmosphere, annealing temperature, film
be of concern for the commercialization of perovskite solar thickness).[24] Using a dual-source vapor deposition method
cells. Various HTMs were developed to replace the expen- to prepare CH3NH3PbI3–xClx film led to an improved PCE of
sive spiro-OMeTAD. Now polytriarylamine (PTAA) is the 15.4%.[25] There is a large difference in morphology between
most efficient organic HTM, but it needs dopants like Li- the perovskite films prepared by dual-source vapor deposition
bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (Li-TFSI) or 4-tert-butylpyri- method and one-step solution processing method. The film pre-
dine (TBP).[19] These dopants harm the device stability.[21] Some pared by the dual-source vapor deposition method is extremely
dopant-free organic HTMs showed good performance. Using uniform and smooth, at least over ≈0.1 cm2 cell area. To sim-
pristine tetrathiafulvalene derivative TTF-1 as HTM, solar cells plify the preparation of perovskite film while keeping high film
gave a PCE of 11.0%.[21a] Using P3HT/graphdiyne composite quality, Liu and Kelly used a sequential deposition method to
as HTM, solar cells gave a PCE of 14.6%.[21b] Some inorganic prepare CH3NH3PbI3 film. Using this method and using low-
HTMs were developed. Copper iodide (CuI) and copper thiocy- temperature solution-processed ZnO as ETL, a 15.7% PCE was
anate (CuSCN) were used as HTMs to replace spiro-OMeTAD achieved.[26] This low-temperature fabrication method can reduce
and the cells gave PCEs of 6.0% and 12.4%, respectively.[22] the fabrication cost and is compatible with polymer substrates.
The performance of planar heterojunction perovskite solar
cells was further improved by using new electron/hole trans-
2.3. Planar n-i-p Structure port materials, which can improve perovskite film quality and
facilitate charge extraction. Using yttrium-doped TiO2 (Y-TiO2)
The planar heterojunction structure refers to the cell structure as ETL and annealing the CH3NH3PbI3 films in an atmos-
without mesoporous scaffold. We define a cell structure as an phere with 30 ± 5% relative humidity led to reduced charge

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recombination and facilitated charge extraction; solar cells it is likely that one of the big advantages of the presence of a
made via this approach achieved a PCE of 19.3%.[27] Embed- mesoporous scaffold is that it facilitates conformal, continuous
ding Au nanoparticles in TiOx to form a TiOx–Au–TiOx com- coverage of the absorber that fills its pores.[3d] Adding CH3NH3Cl
posite layer was reported to enhance charge extraction, yielding or NH4Cl to the PbI2/CH3NH3I solution improved the film mor-
a 16.2% PCE.[28] Using SnO2 as ETL, solar cells gave a PCE of phology and increased the crystallinity, leading to a better device
18.1% from the forward scan and a PCE of 18.4% from the performance.[37] When using the NH4Cl additive, good mor-
reverse scan.[29] Dopant-free HTMs were also developed for phology and crystallinity were obtained, and the PCE increased
planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells. A conjugated small from <0.1% to 9.9% and the FF exceeded 80%.[37a] These results
molecule DOR3T-TBDT was used as dopant-free HTM and the indicate that the morphology and crystallinity of the perovskite
solar cell gave a PCE of 14.9%.[30] Developing novel electron/ layer are crucial to the device performance. Huang et al. devel-
hole transport materials for perovskite solar cells may help to oped a two-step interdiffusion method, which is similar to the
reduce fabrication cost and improve device stability for future two-step method first introduced by Burschka et al., while it was
commercialization. modified to involve a thermal annealing process, combined with
orthogonal solvents for the two-step spin-coating process. It pro-
duced continuous, pinhole-free ≈0.1 cm2 perovskite films on flat
2.4. Planar p-i-n Structure surface without TiO2, resulting in a best efficiency of 15.4% (no
photocurrent hysteresis) with PEDOT:PSS as HTL, with 90% of
The difference between the p-i-n structure and the n-i-p struc- the devices giving efficiency above 14.5%.[38]
ture is the relative location of charge transport layers (Figure 1d). The grain size affects PCE significantly in some devices,
For the p-i-n structure, the HTL is on top of the transparent and it has been argued that it determines charge recombina-
conducting substrate. An often-used combination of hole and tion at grain boundaries. We note, though, that Edri et al. and
electron transporting layers in the p-i-n structure is poly(3,4- others showed <30 mV potential discontinuities between grains,
ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) i.e., less than or comparable to the thermal energy at the cells’
as HTL and a fullerene derivative, e.g., [6,6]-phenyl-C61-bu- operating temperatures.[39] Xiao et al. used a solvent-annealing
tyric acid methyl ester (PC61BM) or [6,6]-phenyl-C71-butyric method to grow perovskite films with large grain size, getting a
acid methyl ester (PC71BM) as ETL. Solar cells with the p-i-n PCE of 15.6%.[40] Nie et al. prepared pinhole-free perovskite films
structure have advantages over n-i-p ones because of the pos- with mm-scale crystals by using a hot casting technique, and the
sibility of low-temperature preparation, of foregoing the need of “millimeter” single crystals helped to boost the PCE to 17.7%.[41]
dopants in the HTL and compatibility with organic electronics Adding hydriodic acid into CH3NH3PbI3 precursor solution
manufacturing processes. led to dense and pinhole-free perovskite films and an 18.1%
The first p-i-n perovskite solar cell reported by Guo PCE.[42] Using a non-wetting PTAA HTL, Huang et al. grew very
et al. gave a PCE of 3.9%.[31] The cells were made by thermally large grains with aspect ratios of ≈2.3–7.9, enhancing the stabi-
depositing C60, bathocuproine (BCP) and Al sequentially onto lized PCE to 18.3%.[43a] By incorporating Cl in the precursor, an
ITO/PEDOT:PSS/CH3NH3PbI3 substrate. Lam et al. devel- abnormal grain-growth behavior was observed in a multi-cycle
oped solution-processed perovskite solar cells with a structure solution coating process, and large grains were found in per-
of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/CH3NH3PbI3/PC61BM/Al and obtained ovskite films. An 18.9% PCE was achieved, which is the highest
a 5.2% PCE by using one-step deposition method and a 7.4% PCE at the time of writing for p-i-n perovskite solar cells.[43b]
PCE by using a sequential deposition method.[32] The PCE was New interlayers were developed to improve electron transport
improved to 12% when using CH3NH3PbI3 prepared by co- between ETL and metal electrode.[44] A 14.1% PCE was obtained
evaporation of CH3NH3I and PbI2.[33] Docampo et al. reported by using a 0.5 nm LiF interlayer, much higher than the PCE of
solution-processed CH3NH3PbI3–xClx-based cells with a 9.8% the device without LiF (11.5%). A 10 × 10 cm2 module with an
PCE.[34] Then You et al. improved the PCE of the cells made 8.7% PCE was made by using a LiF interlayer.[44a] Inserting an
by this method to 11.5% by optimizing the device prepara- interlayer of an amino-functionalized polymer, PN4N, between
tion (device structure, thermal annealing, etc.).[35] Wang et al. PC61BM and Al increased the PCE from 12.4% to 15.0%.[44b]
applied two fullerene layers for electron transporting to passi- Poly[(9,9-bis(3′-(N,N-dimethylamino)propyl)-2,7-fluorene)-
vate the charge traps at grain boundaries, yielding an efficiency alt-2,7-(9,9-dioctyl fluorene)] (PFN) also facilitated electron
of 12.8%. The fill factor (FF) of these devices exceeded 80% for extraction from PCBM to Al, giving a 17.1% PCE.[44c] Several
the first time in perovskite solar cells. It was also found for the other groups have made significant efforts in large area cells
first time that an optimized MAI:PbI2 ratio of precursor was and modules, but, as most of these research is commercial,
not 1 when using the one-step spin-coating method, as a MAI- only little is published.[45]
rich precursor gave better morphology and PCE.[36] Some inorganic HTMs were developed to improve the
The challenge in fabricating planar p-i-n cells on a flat TCO device stability. A 7.8% PCE was achieved by using NiOx as
electrode is to obtain a smooth, pinhole-free perovskite film to HTM.[46a] Doping NiOx with Cu improved the conductivity of
avoid leakage current by the one-step spin-coating method. The NiOx, leading to a 15.4% PCE and good stability.[46b] Using NiO
cells made from a PbCl2/CH3NH3I solution (molar ratio 1:3) deposited by a pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method yielded a
showed better performance than the cells made from a PbI2/ PCE of 17.3%.[46c] PCEs of 12.2% and 13.4% were achieved by
CH3NH3I solution (molar ratio 1:1) since the latter perovskite using CuO and Cu2O as HTMs, respectively.[47a] Electrodepos-
films showed a rough surface and a low crystallinity, also after ited CuSCN was used as the HTM for p-i-n perovskite solar
annealing at ≈100 ºC, when no scaffold was used.[35–37] Indeed, cells and a 16.6% PCE was obtained.[47b]

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(ToF) measurements.[58] The long electron/hole diffusion

REVIEW
2.5. HTL-Free Cells
lengths and good mobilities allow efficient collection of the free
HTL-free perovskite solar cells were made by directly depos- charge carriers by the electrodes in the thin planar-structure
iting Au onto the perovskite layer without using a HTL cells. With further, more systematic investigations, perovskite
(Figure 1e). While unlikely to be of practical interest because solar cells, and, especially modules, should be able to evolve
of the slow chemical reaction between Au and iodide, such further. Some research areas are:
cells are of great interest to understand work mechanism of
• device components (which is likely to yield improved
perovskite solar cells. Here the perovskite acts as an absorber
understanding of mechanisms), materials stability, and
and as hole conductor, forming a heterojunction with ETL like
device performance reproducibility;
TiO2. The built-in field drives the separation of charge car-
• additional areas ripe for further study are charge trans-
riers. The first HTL-free perovskite solar cells gave a PCE of
port, interface engineering, to achieve control over wetting
5.5%.[48] Shi et al. got a 10.5% PCE by using a two-step deposi-
(important to make reproducibly large area devices), and
tion method and argued that their TiO2/CH3NH3PbI3/Au cell
energy level/band alignment;
is a typical heterojunction solar cell.[49] When they inserted an
• novel materials development;
ultrathin Al2O3 film between CH3NH3PbI3 and Au to block
• advanced fabrication technologies;[59]
electrons, they achieved an 11.1% PCE.[50] Two HTL-free cells
• for the commercial development of solar cells, it will be great
with structures of ITO/CH3NH3PbI3/PC61BM/Bis-C60/Ag[51]
if a clear winner in terms of device structure emerges soon, so
and ITO/CH3NH3PbI3/C60/BCP/Ag[52] (BCP = 2,9-dimethyl-
as to make cell development more CdTe- and less CIGS-like.
4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline) were reported, giving PCEs
of 11.0% and 16.0%, respectively. Bis-C60 and BCP were used to
block holes and facilitate electron transport.[36,51]
3. Advanced Structures for Perovskite Solar Cells

2.6. ETL-Free Cells 3.1. Flexible Cells

TiO2 and other n-type semiconductors as ETL were thought Perovskite solar cells have been made on flexible substrates
necessary to make perovskite solar cells. However, high PCEs to get flexible cells.[34] The widely used flexible substrate is
can also be achieved without using such ETL (Figure 1f). Liu et poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET). High-temperature pro-
al. deposited CH3NH3PbI3 directly onto ITO by using a sequen- cessing should be avoided due to the low application tem-
tial deposition method and achieved a 13.5% PCE.[53] Ke et al. perature of PET. Liu et al. reported perovskite solar cells with
reported ETL-free cells with a 14.1% PCE by directly forming a 15.7% PCE by using low-temperature processed ZnO nano-
CH3NH3PbI3–xClx film on FTO.[54] They suggested that the key particles as ETL (Figure 2a). They further made flexible cells by
for obtaining efficient ETL-free cells is to prepare uniform per- replacing glass substrate with PET substrate (Figure 2b). The
ovskite films with good crystallinity, avoiding shunting paths resulting flexible cells gave a PCE of 10.2% which decreased by
between HTL and FTO. Some “ETL-free” cells exhibited very <15% when bending the cell (around a cylinder with radius as
low stabilized power output even though decent PCEs were small as 16 mm) until the ITO/PET substrate could not recover
obtained from J–V measurements.[55] Therefore, the working (Figure 2c).[26] Recently, an amorphous TiOx layer deposited by
mechanism for these cells needs further investigation. We note atomic layer deposition was used in flexible perovskite solar
that ITO and FTO behave as ETL, thus the term “ETL-free” cells and a 12.2% PCE was obtained.[60]
should be taken with a grain of salt. Another type of flexible perovskite solar cells consist of
PEDOT:PSS as HTL and PCBM as ETL. PEDOT:PSS is more
suitable for flexible cells due to its low-temperature prepara-
2.7. Further Investigations tion and good flexibility. Roldán-Carmona et al. reported flex-
ible perovskite solar cells based on sublimated CH3NH3PbI3
The structure diversity for perovskite solar cells correlates (Figure 2d).[33b] Poly[N,N′-bis(4-butylphenyl)-N,N′-bis(phenyl)
with the outstanding optoelectronic properties of perovskite benzidine] (PolyTPD) was spin-coated onto PEDOT:PSS to
materials. The exciton binding energy for CH3NH3PbI3 was better block electrons. A 7% PCE was obtained and no sig-
estimated to be ≈2–50 meV, and, de facto, at room temperature nificant performance deterioration was observed after the
under solar illumination, the thermal energy suffices for the cells had been bent 50 times in a row (Figure 2f). Docampo
excitons to dissociate into free charge carriers.[56] Electron/hole et al. and You et al. reported flexible cells based on solution-
diffusion lengths were found to be >1 µm in CH3NH3PbI3–xClx processed CH3NH3PbI3–xClx with PCEs of 6.4% and 9.2%,
films.[6,57] >175 µm diffusion lengths in single crystals of respectively.[34,35] Poorkazem et al. carried out fatigue resist-
CH3NH3PbI3 may result from intrinsic character of the mate- ance measurements on flexible perovskite solar cells based on
rial (i.e., the distinction in diffusion length between minority CH3NH3PbI3.[61] They found that the drop in device perfor-
and majority carriers is blurred in such systems).[58] Hole mance was caused by the cracks generated in indium oxide-
mobilities of 164 ± 25 cm2 V−1 s−1 and electron mobilities of based transparent electrode after bending, not caused by the
24.8 ± 4.1 cm2 V−1 s−1 were determined for CH3NH3PbI3 single perovskite layer. The flexibility for CH3NH3PbI3 films is good
crystals using the space charge limited current (SCLC) method, enough for roll-to-roll fabrication. Recently, ultrathin (3 µm),
in agreement with results from Hall effect and time-of-flight ultra-lightweight, and highly flexible perovskite solar cells with

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Figure 2. a) Structure for an ITO/ZnO/CH3NH3PbI3/spiro-OMeTAD/Ag cell on glass substrate; b) perovskite solar cells on PET substrate; c) normal-
ized PCEs for the bent cells as a function of the radius (R) of bending; d) structure for a flexible perovskite solar cell; e) flexible solar cells; f) PCE, FF,
Jsc and Voc change with the bending cycles. a–c) Reproduced with permission.[26] Copyright 2013, Macmillan Publishers Ltd. d–f) Reproduced with
permission.[33b] Copyright 2014, Royal Society of Chemistry.

a stabilized efficiency of 12% were made and used to power (Figure 4d). The –COOH groups of 5-AVA anchor on the sur-
aviation models.[62] face of mesoporous TiO2 and ZrO2 films, whereas the NH3+
Qiu et al. fabricated fiber-like perovskite solar cells by groups act as nucleation sites, improving the charge transfer
replacing the planar flexible substrate with a stainless steel fiber between TiO2 and perovskite. After working under 1 sun in air
electrode and using carbon nanotube (CNT) sheets as the other for more than 1000 h, the cells still gave stable PCE (Figure 4e).
electrode (Figure 3a,b).[63] The cells gave a PCE of 3.3% and Introducing a self-assembled silane monolayer between TiO2
could be woven to be perovskite solar cell textiles (Figure 3c).
This design expands the application for perovskite solar cells.
The flexibility of fiber-like cells can be enhanced by replacing
the steel fiber with a CNT fiber. The CNT fiber-based cells
worked for more than 96 h in air, giving a 3.03% PCE.[64]

3.2. Cells with a Carbon Electrode

Mei et al. developed a printing technique to fabricate meso-

scopic perovskite solar cells.[65] Nanoporous TiO2, ZrO2, and
carbon black/graphite electrode were printed sequentially on
TiO2 coated FTO glass. Then the perovskite precursor solu-
tion was dropped onto the carbon electrode, and it infiltrated
through carbon electrode to reach ZrO2 and TiO2 (Figure 4a).
The device fabrication was finished after a thermal treatment.
ZrO2 prevented contact between TiO2 and carbon electrode.
The cells based on MAPbI3 gave a PCE of 7.2%. Introducing
Figure 3. a) Structure for the fiber-like perovskite solar cell; b) scan-
5-ammoniumvaleric acid (5-AVA) iodide into MAPbI3, a ning electron microscope (SEM) image for a bent fiber-like perovskite
mixed-cation perovskite (5-AVA)x(MA)1–xPbI3 was formed, solar cell; c) a textile made with fiber-like solar cells. Reproduced with
a PCE of 11.6% and a certified PCE of 12.8% were obtained permission.[63]

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Figure 4. a) Fully printable mesoscopic perovskite solar cells; b) suggested energy band diagram for the device; c) crystal structure of CH3NH3PbI3;
d) J–V curves for printable solar cells; e) stability test for a (5-AVA)x(MA)1–xPbI3 solar cell. Reproduced with permission.[65] Copyright 2014, American
Association for the Advancement of Science.

and CH3NH3PbI3 led to a better interface and improved device of PbI2 to CH3NH3PbI3. Low-temperature (100 °C) processed
performance.[66] Effects of TiO2 nanoparticle size and carbon carbon paste was also used as electrode for perovskite solar cells,
electrode composition on the device performance were system- which gave an 8.3% PCE.[70]
atically studied.[67] This printing technique has potential for
mass production of perovskite solar cells.
Carbon electrodes can work in perovskite solar cells without 3.3. Semitransparent Cells
HTL, and the device fabrication doesn’t need vacuum evapora-
tion, thus reducing fabrication cost. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) Semitransparent solar cells can find applications in windows,
have been used as electrodes in different solar cells. Li et al. cladding of buildings and vehicles. The transparency of per-
used CNT electrode to make perovskite solar cells (Figure 5b).[68] ovskite solar cells depends on the thickness of the perovskite
The as-prepared CNT film (Figure 5a) can be peeled off from layer and the transmittance of the electrode. A thin metal layer
the substrate and transferred onto the perovskite film. Toluene was often used as transparent electrode in semitransparent
was dropped onto CNT film to improve the contact between solar cells. Eperon et al. reported semitransparent cells with
CNTs and perovskite. The device fabrication was complete a 10 nm thick gold electrode, having an average visible trans-
after toluene vaporization. Dropping spiro-OMeTAD solution mittance (AVT) of ≈30% and a 3.5% PCE.[71] Roldán-Carmona
in chlorobenzene onto the CNT electrode increased PCE from et al. used a 6 nm thick gold electrode and a LiF capping layer
6.87% to 9.90%. Wei et al. developed a novel “clamping solar to protect the gold layer and reduce reflection, obtaining a 6.4%
cell” using candle soot as the electrode.[69] The cells made by PCE and a 29% AVT.[72] Cheng et al. improved the transpar-
directly clamping a perovskite photoanode to candle soot on ency and conductivity of the transparent electrode by using a
FTO substrate gave a 2.60% PCE. The PCE increased to 5.44% MoO3–Au–MoO3 configuration (Figure 6a).[73] MoO3 helped to
by annealing the candle soot. Depositing a PbI2 layer onto TiO2 form a thin and uniform Au layer, leading to enhanced conduc-
coated FTO glass, then transferring candle soot onto PbI2, and tivity. The thickness of CH3NH3PbI3 layer was adjusted to obtain
treating the substrate with CH3NH3I solution, the resulted different transparency (Figure 6b). PCEs of 5.3% and 13.6% were
cells gave a 11.02% PCE (Figure 5c). The PCE enhancement achieved for cells with AVT values of 31% and 7%, respectively.
was attributed to the formation of an interpenetrating interface Another type of transparent electrodes uses silver nanowires
between perovskite and candle soot during in situ conversion (AgNWs). Guo et al. reported semitransparent perovskite solar

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Figure 5. a) CNT film; b) CH3NH3PbI3 solar cell with CNT electrode; c) fabrication of the clamping solar cell. a,b) Reproduced with permission.[68]
Copyright 2014, American Chemical Society. c) Reproduced with permission.[69] Copyright 2014, Royal Society of Chemistry.

cells with an 8.5% PCE and a 28.4% AVT by using solution- have a peak transmittance of 77% at 800 nm. The transmitted
processed AgNWs electrode (Figure 6c).[74] The deposition of light was utilized in a tandem structure employing a crystalline
AgNWs electrode did not affect the device transmittance much silicon (Si) or copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) cell as
(Figure 6d). Bailie et al. reported semitransparent perovskite solar the bottom cell, leading to an increased PCE. Recently a precious
cells with AgNWs electrode giving a 12.7% PCE.[75] The cells metal free transparent electrode was developed, consisting of

Figure 6. a) Structure of a semitransparent perovskite solar cell; b) transmittance spectra for semitransparent perovskite solar cells with different
CH3NH3PbI3 layer thickness; c) structure of semitransparent perovskite solar cells with solution-processed AgNWs electrode; d) transmittance spectra
for the device before and after AgNWs deposition. a,b) Reproduced with permission.[73] Copyright 2015, Elsevier. c,d) Reproduced with permission.[74]
Copyright 2015, Royal Society of Chemistry.

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PET, Ni mesh and conducting adhesive. Semitransparent perovs- 3.4.1. 4-Terminal Tandem Cells
kite solar cells with a 13.3% PCE were made by laminating the
electrode onto CH3NH3PbI3–xClx coated substrate.[76] Solar cells based on CH3NH3PbI3 can get much higher Voc
than Si and CIGS cells, making them suitable to be the top
cells in a tandem structure.[75] One method to make a tandem
3.4. Tandem Cells cell is to stack two sub-cells mechanically (Figure 7a,b).[75,79]
Bailie et al. made a mechanically stacked tandem cell by
The open-circuit voltage (Voc) of a single junction solar cell using a semitransparent perovskite cell as the top cell and Si
is limited by Eg/q (Eg is the bandgap of the absorber and q is or CIGS cell as the bottom cell (Figure 7a).[75] The advantage
elementary charge).[77] For a single junction cell, the absorber for this tandem cell is that the current matching between the
with narrower bandgap cannot produce high Voc, being lim- top and bottom cells can be realized at the module level by
ited by the bandgap. The absorber with wider bandgap is eli- adjusting the size of the sub-cells. PCEs of 17.0% and 18.6%
gible for producing higher Voc, but the short-circuit current were obtained in CH3NH3PbI3/Si and CH3NH3PbI3/CIGS
(Jsc) is limited because the photons with energy lower than the tandem cells, respectively. These PCEs were higher than those
absorber’s bandgap do not contribute to the photocurrent.[3,77] obtained from the perovskite (12.7%), Si (11.4%) and CIGS
Tandem structures can yield a solution to this problem by (17.0%) single cells. A maximum PCE of 30.4% can be pre-
connecting a wide bandgap solar cell with a narrow bandgap dicted when using CH3NH3PbBrI2 cells in series with Si or
solar cell in series. The tandem cell can absorb a broad solar CIGS cells.[75] 4-Terminal mechanically stacked tandem cells
spectrum and provide a high Voc, which is the sum of the Vocs can get high PCE if the top cell can transmit the light with
of the sub-cells. The photocurrent generated by the two sub- energy smaller than the absorber’s bandgap. Naturally, and as
cells should be balanced because the photocurrent exported is well known, improving the transmittance of the transparent
from the tandem cell is limited by the sub-cell with the smaller electrode and charge transport layers can enhance the PCE of
photocurrent.[78] tandem cells.

Figure 7. a) Structure of a mechanically stacked tandem cell with a perovskite solar cell as the top cell and a Si or CIGS cell as the bottom cell. Repro-
duced with permission.[75] Copyright 2015, Royal Society of Chemistry. b) Scheme for a mechanically stacked 4-terminal tandem cell. Reproduced
with permission.[79] Copyright 2015, Royal Society of Chemistry. c) Structure of a 2-terminal monolithically grown perovskite/Si multi-junction solar
cell. Reproduced with permission.[80] Copyright 2015, AIP Publishing LLC. d) Scheme of hybrid tandem solar cell, containing perovskite and polymer
absorbers. Reproduced with permission.[81] Copyright 2015, Royal Society of Chemistry.

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3.4.2. 2-Terminal Tandem Cells i.e., integrating the cells with a bulk heterojunction layer or
quantum dot layer with complementary absorption.
Another type of tandem cells is 2-terminal, monolithic tandem
cell with an interconnection layer (Figure 7c,d).[80,81] Mailoa
et al. made a monolithic tandem cell (Figure 7c) by introducing 3.5.1. Perovskite/Bulk Heterojunction Integrated Cells
a silicon tunnel junction between the perovskite and silicon
sub-cells.[80] The tandem cell gave a PCE of 13.7%, which is Zuo et al. expanded the photoresponse of perovskite solar cells
still lower than the record efficiency for perovskite or Si single by integrating perovskite solar cells with a bulk heterojunction
junction cells. It is hard to make high efficiency sub-cells in a (BHJ) (Figure 8b).[85] Integrated cells were made by coating a
tandem structure, which can work as good as the single junc- BHJ layer onto CH3NH3PbI3 layer. PCBM is usually used as the
tion cells. The tunnel junction and the current matching affect acceptor in BHJ solar cells, and also as the ETL in perovskite
tandem cell performance significantly. Optimizing the fabri- solar cells. In these device structures, the perovskite layer acts
cation of sub-cells and developing better tunnel junction can as light absorber and hole transporter. PCBM transports elec-
improve PCE. Chen et al. fabricated a perovskite/polymer mon- trons from perovskite and poly(diketopyrrolopyrrole-terthio-
olithic tandem cell (Figure 7d) via a low-temperature solution phene) (PDPP3T), which is a typical low-bandgap polymer with
processing.[81] The relatively low PCE (10.23%) for the tandem an optical bandgap of 1.33 eV. Holes move from PDPP3T to
cell resulted from the low PCE of the polymer sub-cell. perovskite and are collected by ITO electrode. Both perovskite
and PDPP3T contribute to the photocurrent of the integrated
cell. The photoresponse was pushed to 970 nm due to the con-
3.4.3. “All Perovskite” Tandem Cells tribution of PDPP3T. Jsc of the integrated cell exceeded Jsc of
the perovskite cell after optimizing the thickness of BHJ layer
The previous studies focused on tandem cells consisting of high (Figure 8c,d). Yang et al. made integrated cells by using DOR3T-
bandgap perovskite cell and another low bandgap non-perovs- TBDT or PBDTT-SeDPP as donors in BHJ layer and achieved
kite cell. Alternatively, an “all perovskite” tandem cell is possible PCEs of 14.3% and 12.0%, respectively.[86] The contribution of
due to the widely tunable bandgap of the Pb halide perovskite BHJ to the photocurrent of the integrated cell is the limiting
materials. The bandgap of CH3NH3Pb(I1−xBrx)3 was reported to factor. Developing suitable high-performance BHJ can further
be tunable from 1.58 eV to 2.28 eV when x changes from 0 to enhance the photocurrent and PCE of the integrated cells.
1,[82] although this was later disputed and spontaneous phase
separation at 0.2 < x < 0.8 was observed.[83] The bandgap for
HC(NH2)2Pb(I1−xBrx)3 is in the range of ≈1.47–2.23 eV.[82b] 3.5.2. Perovskite/Quantum Dots Integrated Cells
A Voc of ≈1.51 V has been obtained for a single junction cell
using a CH3NH3PbBr3–xClx absorber.[83c] A Voc of 1.06 V, Instead of BHJ cells, QD PV cells have also been integrated
a Jsc of 24.7 mA cm−2, a FF of 77.5% and a PCE of 20.2% were with perovskite cells. Seo et al. found that coating a thin layer
obtained by using HC(NH2)2PbI3 absorber.[19] Theoretically, of CH3NH3PbI3 on PbS QDs to form PbS/CH3NH3PbI3 core/
using HC(NH2)2PbI3 as the absorber for the low bandgap sub- shell structure significantly enhanced Jsc and PCE of PbS QDs
cell and the absorption-complementary CH3NH3Pb(I1−xBrx)3 as cells.[87] Etgar et al. made a CH3NH3PbI3 and PbS QDs co-
the absorber for the high bandgap sub-cell, it is possible to get sensitized cell and got much higher Jsc than that from single
a Voc of 2.5 V, a Jsc of 12 mA cm−2, a FF of 77%, leading to a CH3NH3PbI3 and PbS cells.[88] Hu et al. used PbS QDs as HTM
PCE of 23.1% for the tandem cell. Therefore, “all perovskite” to make perovskite solar cells with a structure of ITO/PbS QDs/
tandem solar cells might be an interesting approach to enhance CH3NH3PbI3/PC61BM/Al.[89] PbS QDs have a tunable bandgap
the PCE of perovskite solar cells. However, there remains the (≈0.7–2.1 eV) depending on the dot size. PbS QDs with different
challenge to prepare cells with perovskites with bandgaps of bandgaps were tried to match the energy level of CH3NH3PbI3.
≈1.8–2.0 eV that will not phase-separate in operando. Compared with the cells without PbS QDs, the photoresponse
for cells with PbS QDs was expanded due to photocurrent con-
tribution of PbS QDs. The cell with 1.4 eV PbS QDs gave the
3.5. Integrated Cells best PCE of 7.5%.[89] It is possible to get higher PCE by opti-
mizing device structure or by integrating perovskite cells with
Internal quantum efficiency (IQE) for CH3NH3PbI3 solar cells other narrow-bandgap semiconductors like PbSe or SnS etc.
can reach nearly 100%,[56,84] suggesting that photocurrent loss
caused by perovskite absorber itself is very small. The effective
approaches to increase photocurrent are to reduce reflection, 3.6. “Switchable” Cells
to reduce transport-layer absorption, and to expand the pho-
toresponse of perovskite solar cells. Some efforts have been The photocurrent direction for “switchable” cells can be
made to reduce the bandgap of perovskite absorbers. Replacing switched by changing the direction of the electric field. Xiao
CH3NH3+ in CH3NH3PbI3 with NH = CHNH3+ leads to a et al. first reported this phenomenon in perovskite solar cells
red-shifted absorption edge (840 nm).[19] Replacing Pb2+ with based on CH3NH3PbI3, CH3NH3PbI3–xClx, HC(NH2)2PbI3 and
Sn2+ also leads to a narrower bandgap, but Sn2+ suffers from CH3NH3PbBr3.[90] The device structure is shown in Figure 9a.
ease of being oxidized to Sn4+.[4] New approaches to expand For CH3NH3PbI3 cells, the as-prepared devices showed low
the photoresponse of perovskite solar cells were reported, Jsc (8.5 mA cm−2) and Voc (0.18 V). The cell gave a Jsc of

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Figure 8. a) Structures of PDPP3T and PC61BM; b) structures for BHJ cell, perovskite cell and integrated cell; c) J–V curves; d) external quantum
efficiency (EQE) spectra. Reproduced with permission.[85] Copyright 2015, Royal Society of Chemistry.

18.6 or –20.1 mA cm−2 by applying the electric field from photocurrent direction kept, suggesting that the poled cell can
PEDOT to Au (positive poling) or from Au to PEDOT (negative work as well as those with HTL and ETL. To exploit this feature,
poling) (Figure 9b). After storing the cell for two months, the they made cells on glass substrate with patterned Au electrodes

Figure 9. a) Structure for a “Switchable” cell; b) J–V curves for a poled cell; c) scheme of the cells on glass with patterned Au electrodes; d) J–V curves
for cells connected in series. Reproduced with permission.[90] Copyright 2015, Macmillan Publishers Ltd.

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(Figure 9c). The sub-cells with a structure of Au/CH3NH3PbI3/ 3.7. Single-Crystal Cells
Au were connected in series. The non-poled cell gave no photo-
current. After poling, the cell worked, and a sub-cell gave a Single crystal reflects the intrinsic properties of a material.
highest Voc of 0.88 V. The more the sub-cells, the higher the Stoumpos et al. grew single crystals based on tin and lead
Voc for the module (Figure 9d). The switchable feature was iodide perovskites and observed reasonable to very high mobil-
also observed in cells with a structure of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/ ities (>300 up to a few 1000 cm2 V−1 s−1) in CH3NH3SnI3.[94]
CH3NH3PbI3/MoO3/Al.[91] CH3NH3PbI3 single crystals show absorption edge at 850 nm,
Ion migration was suggested as a possible mechanism while CH3NH3PbI3 films at 800 nm.[58,94] The electron/hole dif-
behind the switchable feature,[3a,90–92] although the jury is still fusion lengths in CH3NH3PbI3 single crystals (>175 µm) are
out because of the difficulty to perform the classical experi- much longer than those in CH3NH3PbI3 films (≈100 nm).[6,58]
ments to prove ion migration (e.g., radioactive iodine tracing, CH3NH3PbI3 and CH3NH3PbBr3 single crystals were reported
which is problematic because of the gamma emission from to have very low trap-state densities comparable to that of best
the relevant isotope, I125).[3a,92] Under an applied electric field, silicon single crystals.[95]
the motion of ions in perovskite films would induce a p-region The excellent light absorption and charge transport prop-
near one electrode and an n-region near the other electrode, erties of CH3NH3PbI3 single crystals benefit photovoltaic
thus forming a self-doped p-i-n structure,[90] and similar phe- performance. Dong et al. grew CH3NH3PbI3 single crystals
nomena have been observed in CuInSe2, in light-emitting elec- (Figure 10a) using a top-seeded solution growth method and
trochemical cells (LECs) and in general, in mixed electronic/ made solar cells using a 3 mm thick single crystal (Figure 10b).[58]
ionic conductors.[92] An opposite electric field can change the The external quantum efficiency (EQE) of the solar cell ranged
p-i-n structure into n-i-p structure due to the opposite migra- from 12.6% to 15.8% at ≈520–810 nm (Figure 10c). The IQE
tion of ions. The p- and n-doped regions can act as HTL and was nearly 100% at 800 nm. High IQE indicates that elec-
ETL, respectively, making the device perform as a common trons generated near Au electrode can move through the
perovskite solar cell.[39] Thus, changing electric field direc- whole crystal and be collected by Ga electrode. Long charge
tion can change photocurrent direction. The observation carrier diffusion length for CH3NH3PbI3 makes it suitable
on changes in work function, composition and morphology for X-ray and γ-ray sensing. The single crystal device pre-
during poling supported the ion migration speculation.[90] The sented an efficiency of 3.9% in radiation sensing.[58] A solu-
study on transition time for a hole-only device changing into tion self-assembly method (Figure 10d) was used to make
a diode and the study on interface charge relaxation also sup- CH3NH3PbBr3 single crystals (Figure 10e) for microlasers.[96]
ported the viewpoint of ion migration.[91] Recently, the migra- CH3NH3PbBr3 single crystals (Figure 10f) and CH3NH3PbI3
tion and redistribution of CH3NH3+ ions at room temperature single crystals were prepared via an anti-solvent vapor-assisted
were deduced from photothermal induced resonance (PTIR) crystallization.[95] A 10 mm × 10 mm × 8 mm CH3NH3PbI3
measurements.[93] single crystal (Figure 10g) was obtained by using a cooling

Figure 10. a) A CH3NH3PbI3 single crystal; b) structure of CH3NH3PbI3 single-crystal solar cell; c) EQE and IQE spectra of such cell; d) scheme
of method to prepare CH3NH3PbBr3 single crystals; e) SEM images of CH3NH3PbBr3 single crystals; f) as-grown CH3NH3PbBr3 single crystals;
g) a CH3NH3PbI3 single crystal obtained via a cooling process. a–c) Reproduced with permission.[58] Copyright 2015, American Association for
the Advancement of Science. d,e) Reproduced with permission.[96] f) Reproduced with permission.[95] Copyright 2015, American Association for
the Advancement of Science. g) Reproduced with permission.[97] Copyright 2015, Royal Society of Chemistry.

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method.[97] High-quality bulk hybrid perovskite single crystals

REVIEW
Generally the output voltage for CH3NH3PbI3 solar cells at max-
were obtained within minutes by using an inverse temperature imum power point is around 0.9 V, so tandem cells are needed
crystallization method.[98] in water photolysis. Luo et al. connected two CH3NH3PbI3 solar
Currently the PCE for single crystal solar cells is still low. The cells (outside the electrolyzer vessel) in series to split water
good contact between single crystal and the charge transport layers (Figure 11a) and achieved a solar-to-hydrogen conversion effi-
needs to be realized. Single crystal cells have not reached the per- ciency of 12.3%.[100] A solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency
formance of cells with polycrystalline films, a feature similar to of 2.5% was achieved in a perovskite/BiVO4 water-splitting cell,
CdTe and CIGS cells, which distinguishes them from III–V ones which was made by integrating a BiVO4 photoanode with a
(such as GaAs cells), and various reasons have been forwarded for single junction CH3NH3PbI3 solar cell (Figure 11b).[99] A solar-
this. The very low barriers between grains may hint that such a to-hydrogen conversion efficiency of 2.4% was obtained by inte-
difference will remain, but if epitaxial films can be grown, they grating a CH3NH3PbI3 solar cell with a Fe2O3 photoanode.[101]
may yield single crystal cells that can equal thin film ones.

4.2. Wearable Power Source

4. Applications of Perovskite Solar Cells
The popularization of portable electronics drives the develop-
4.1. Water Photolysis ment of portable and wearable power supply. The high effi-
ciency and demonstrated flexibility of perovskite solar cells
Water splitting needs a voltage of at least 1.23 V to meet the ther- make them suitable for wearable power sources, although
modynamic requirements.[99] Voltages of 1.8–2.0 V are needed safety issue because of Pb toxicity will need to be addressed.
to get acceptable reaction rates for practical applications.[100] Perovskite solar cells can be bent with a bending radius of

Figure 11. a) Scheme for a water-splitting device with external power supply; b) scheme for BiVO4/CH3NH3PbI3 tandem device; c) normalized PCEs
for flexible perovskite solar cells after being bent; d) normalized PCEs for flexible perovskite solar cells as a function of bending cycles with bending
radius of 400, 10 and 4 mm, respectively. a) Reproduced with permission.[100] Copyright 2014, American Association for the Advancement of Science.
b) Reproduced with permission.[99] Copyright 2015, American Chemical Society. c,d) Reproduced with permission.[102] Copyright 2015, Royal Society
of Chemistry.

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1 mm, suggesting that they can be worn on human wrist and Acknowledgements
even finger (Figure 11c).[102] The device showed no significant
This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation
decrease in PCE during 1000 bending cycles with a bending
of China (U1401244 and 21374025). H. Han acknowledges financial
radius around 10 mm (Figure 11d), suggesting that they have support from National Natural Science Foundation of China (91433203,
potential in practical application. The fiber-like perovskite solar 61474049), the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (863,
cells were woven into textiles.[63,64] SS2013AA50303). J. Huang thanks the financial support from National
Science Foundation under the award OIA-1538893.

Received: September 26, 2015

4.3. Photodetector
Revised: November 11, 2015
Published online: January 21, 2016
As much work has been done on PbX2-based photodetectors,
trying Pb halide perovskites is a logical step. Solution-processed
photodetectors based on CH3NH3PbI3 exhibited a large detec-
tivity of 1014 Jones and a fast photoresponse, which is better
than most of the organic, quantum dot and hybrid photode- [1] C. Wadia, A. P. Alivisatos, D. M. Kammen, Environ. Sci. Technol.
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organolead halide perovskite materials drive the research on 1994, 369, 467; b) D. B. Mitzi, S. Wang, C. A. Feild, C. A. Chess,
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