Recent Progress of Thin Crystal Engineering for Perovskite Solar Cells

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Renewable Energy
• Solid-State Physics

Background:

• Metal halide perovskite single crystals exhibit excellent optoelectronic properties, promising for advanced photovoltaics.
• Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have rapidly advanced, but single-crystal variants still underperform polycrystalline ones in efficiency and stability.
• Poor device stability under illumination, despite low bulk ion migration, highlights issues with crystal quality and surface defects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent advancements in crystal engineering for enhancing carrier transport and reducing recombination in single-crystal PSCs.
• To compare the performance of vertical and lateral single-crystal PSC architectures.
• To identify key challenges and propose future strategies for developing high-performance single-crystal PSCs.

Main Methods:

• Summarizing crystal engineering techniques: crystal growth, component control, and surface/interface modification for vertical single-crystal PSCs.
• Discussing the application and comparison of perovskite single crystals in lateral PSCs versus conventional vertical structures.
• Analyzing factors limiting performance, including crystalline quality and surface defect density.

Main Results:

• Efficiency of single-crystal PSCs has increased significantly, yet still trails polycrystalline counterparts.
• Identified low crystalline quality and high surface defect density as primary limitations for solution-grown thin single crystals.
• Crystal engineering strategies show promise for improving carrier dynamics in vertical single-crystal PSCs.

Conclusions:

• Further research into crystal engineering, including growth, composition, and surface treatments, is essential for single-crystal PSCs.
• Addressing surface defects and improving crystalline quality are critical for overcoming stability and efficiency limitations.
• Comparative analysis of vertical and lateral architectures provides insights for future device design.