Plasmonic Nanoparticles as Light-Harvesting Enhancers in Perovskite Solar Cells: A User's Guide

In this Perspective we discuss the implications of employing metal particles of different shape, size, and composition as absorption enhancers in methylammonium lead iodide perovskite solar cells, with the aim of establishing some guidelines for the future development of plasmonic resonance-based photovoltaic devices. Hybrid perovskites present an extraordinarily high absorption coefficient which, as we show here, makes it difficult to extrapolate concepts and designs that are applied to other solution-processed photovoltaic materials. In addition, the variability of the optical constants attained from perovskite films of seemingly similar composition further complicates the analysis. We demonstrate that, by means of rigorous design, it is possible to provide a realistic prediction of the magnitude of the absorption enhancement that can be reached for perovskite films embedding metal particles. On the basis of this, we foresee that localized surface plasmon effects will provide a means to attain highly efficient perovskite solar cells using films that are thinner than those usually employed, hence facilitating collection of photocarriers and significantly reducing the amount of potentially toxic lead present in the device.