Functional Materials and Device Design in Perovskite Solar Cells

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) as a promising photovoltaic technology have attracted considerable attention from both fundamental research and the industrial field during the past years due to the unique features of perovskite materials such as tunable band gap, high absorption coefficient, and long carrier diffusion lengths. With the tremendous efforts in the design of functional materials and device engineering, the certified power conversion efficiency of PSCs has broken 26%. To expedite the commercialization of PSCs, the stability issues should be well solved at the present stage which needs further exploration of novel multifunctional materials, improvement of interfacial properties, stabilization of perovskite active layer, and optimization of device engineering.

This Research Topic intends to present the recent development of material design and device engineering in perovskite solar cells and encourage scientists to explore novel functional materials, investigate intrinsic charge dynamic mechanisms, and design rational device technology to tackle the stability issues in PSCs. This Research Topic is presented as an interdisciplinary forum for the perspective and discussion on the progress of PSCs as the next-generation photovoltaic technology. This topic will not only cover the fundamental scientific problems that exist in PSCs such as molecular design, structure-property relationship, exciton dynamics, and interface properties, but also include technical issues related to device fabrication and module manufacture.

We sincerely welcome high-quality original research articles and review papers associated with this topic. The submissions in the following themes may be preferred, but not limited to:

• Design of functional materials utilized as additives, interfacial layers, charge transport materials as well as encapsulation materials in PSCs.
• Strategies for the solution of stability issues including the regulation of perovskite growth, optimization of heterojunction interfaces, and stabilization of various auxiliary materials.
• Fundamental studies of the optoelectrical properties and the corresponding mechanisms in PSCs.
• Tandem solar cells incorporating PSCs such as perovskite/perovskite tandem cells, perovskite/silicon tandem cells, and perovskite/organic integrated solar cells.
• Outlook and prospect on the commercialization of PSCs and related photovoltaic technologies.