The efficiency of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) has risen rapidly over the past decade, and it has already crossed the 25% mark. However, stability has long been the bottleneck toward the commercialization of these devices. Perovskite is inherently vulnerable to moisture, high temperature, UV light, and other environmental factors, which naturally come in contact during operation. Moreover, degradation of the device is also associated with the hole transport layer (HTL), electron transport layer (ETL), and buffer layers. The mechanisms for PSCs’ physical, chemical, structural, and environmental instabilities are discussed critically herein, along with recent efforts made by various groups to overcome these stability issues. Comparison is made among different engineering techniques to stabilize the devices. Moreover, the lack of unified criteria for stability tests of PSCs is discussed. Different degradation mechanisms are collated and compared and recent approaches of different groups on stability analysis from a neutral point of view are critically evaluated. Finally, this review urges future research to focus on novel materials for different layers which are reasonably lattice matched and stable with perovskite layer and use suitable encapsulation techniques for proper sealing of the device against degrading substances.
As poor stability is the primary constraint for the commercialization of perovskite solar cells, improving stability has been the primary focus of recent research works regarding solar cells that make use of perovskite materials. Different metal oxide transport layers are being used with the aim of fabricating stable perovskite solar cells. A stable and efficient solar cell with both metal oxide transport layers (ZnO and
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) and a perovskite (methyl ammonium lead iodide) absorber layer is simulated in this work, and a comparison of performance parameters is made with other transport layers from the literature. The issue of optimization regarding the thickness of the absorber layer and the doping concentration in the absorber and transport layers has been addressed, and the effect of defect concentration at the interface has been investigated. Optimum performance is achieved with an absorber layer of thickness 800 nm. Linear grading is also introduced in the absorber layer by varying the concentration of different halides, which increases the efficiency by approximately 8% owing to the increase in the short circuit current density.
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