Development of formamidinium lead iodide-based perovskite solar cells: efficiency and stability

Perovskite materials have been particularly eye-catching by virtue of their excellent properties such as high light absorption coefficient, long carrier lifetime, low exciton binding energy and ambipolar transmission (perovskites have the characteristics of transporting both electrons and holes). Limited by the wider band gap (1.55 eV), worse thermal stability and more defect states, the first widely used methylammonium lead iodide has been gradually replaced by formamidinium lead iodide (FAPbI₃) with a narrower band gap of 1.48 eV and better thermal stability. However, FAPbI₃ is stabilized as the yellow non-perovskite active phase at low temperatures, and the required black phase (α-FAPbI₃) can only be obtained at high temperatures. In this perspective, we summarize the current efforts to stabilize α-FAPbI₃, and propose that pure α-FAPbI₃ is an ideal material for single-junction cells, and a triple-layer mesoporous architecture could help to stabilize pure α-FAPbI₃. Furthermore, reducing the band gap and using tandem solar cells may ulteriorly approach the Shockley-Queisser limit efficiency. We also make a prospect that the enhancement of industrial applications as well as the lifetime of devices may help achieve commercialization of PSCs in the future.