energies
Editorial
Perovskite Solar Cells
Bart Roose
Citation: Roose, B. Perovskite Solar
Cells. Energies 2022, 15, 6399.
https://doi.org/10.3390/
en15176399
Received: 29 July 2022
Accepted: 16 August 2022
Published: 1 September 2022
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Energies 2022, 15, 6399. https://doi.org/10.3390/en15176399
Cavendish Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Cambridge, 19 J. J. Thomson Avenue,
Cambridge CB3 0HE, UK; br340@cam.ac.uk
Solar energy is set to play a big role in future energy generation and achieving climate
change goals [1]. At the moment, silicon-based technologies dominate the market [2]. How-
ever, recent events have illustrated the vulnerability of supply chains, and any disturbance
to silicon supply lines could seriously endanger the feasibility of achieving Net Zero by
2050. The perovskite solar cell (PSC) field has progressed tremendously in the decade since
the seminal papers by Miyasaka [3] and Park [4] first explored lead halide perovskites as
light-absorbing materials in solar cells. Lab-scale efficiencies of >25% have been achieved,
rivalling silicon. [5] In addition, halide perovskites are finding use in multi-junction solar
cells [6] and other optoelectronic applications, such as LEDs [7] and photodetectors [8].
The rapid progress on halide perovskites was largely possible due to the simplicity with
which these materials can be (solution) processed, allowing many research groups around
the world to contribute to the development of PSCs. Stability, lead toxicity and cost (both
environmentally and economically) have drawn significant attention as factors to improve
towards commercialization, and good progress has been made in all these aspects. However,
further improvements are still needed for PSCs to claim a spot among the commercially
successful PV technologies [9].
The presence of lead in halide perovskites may be a barrier towards their commercial-
ization, as lead is toxic and has been banned from products such as petrol and paint [10]. A
popular replacement for lead is tin, which has shown promising device performance [11].
The review article “The Low-Dimensional Three-Dimensional Tin Halide Perovskite: Film
Characterization and Device Performance” authored by C. Gai, J. Wang, Y. Wang and J. Li
provided a constructive review on the use of small amounts of 2D perovskite to stabilise
and enhance the efficiency of 3D tin perovskites [12]. They reported that a surface layer
of 2D perovskite can protect tin perovskites from oxidation and simultaneously passivate
surface traps, leading to a significantly higher open circuit voltage and device stability.
Nevertheless, the authors concluded that tin perovskites still have a long way to go before
they can rival Pb-based perovskites.
L.-C. Chen, C.H. Tien, Y.-C. Jhou and W.-C Lin published an article on mixed lead/tin
perovskite entitled “Co-Solvent Controllable Engineering of MA0.5 FA0.5 Pb0.8 Sn0.2 I3 Lead–
Tin Mixed Perovskites for Inverted Perovskite Solar Cells with Improved Stability” [13].
The authors modified the archetypical lead halide perovskite MAPbI3 (MA = methyl
ammonium), replacing MA partly with FA (formamidinium) to increase stability and
partially replace lead with more environmentally friendly tin. They found that the ratio
of dimethylformamide to dimethyl sulfoxide in the precursor solution is key to achieving
good film morphology and efficient devices.
The long term stability of PSCs is another key area of improvement towards commer-
cialising PSCs. Transport layers can play an important role in providing environmental
stability [14]. Z. Shadrokh, S. Sousani, S. Gholipour, Z. Dehghani, Y. Abdi and B. Roose pre-
sented a paper entitled “Stannite Quaternary Cu2 M(M = Ni, Co)SnS4 as Low Cost Inorganic
Hole Transport Materials in Perovskite Solar Cells” [15]. The authors presented a facile and
mild synthesis method for earth abundant inorganic hole transport materials (HTMs). The
authors found that Cu2 NiSnS4 is a promising material for use in PSCs, showing encour-
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Energies 2022, 15, 6399 2 of 3

aging efficiency and enhanced environmental stability compared to organic HTMs. They
predicted that the HTM can be further optimised by performing compositional engineering.
When moving towards commercialisation, it is also important to assess what costs
(environmental and economic) are associated with each component of the PSC, and de-
cide what materials are suitable for large-scale production. [16] The article “Emerging
Photovoltaic (PV) Materials for a Low Carbon Economy” authored by I. Celik, R. H. Ahang-
harnejhad, Z. Song, M. Heben and D. Apul attempted to do just this [17]. The authors found
that the perovskite absorber is the most eco-efficient material in the whole device stack.
ITO is identified as an environmental hotspot and organic HTMs are the most expensive
materials. Commercial PSCs will likely have to find alternatives for these materials.
Much research has been carried out in recent years to tackle the remaining hurdles for
bringing PSCs to the market. Now that PSCs are showing more and more convincingly
that they can fulfill stability and cost requirements needed for use in the field [18], it is
expected that industry will start to play a much bigger role in future advances in the field.
Several companies are in advanced stages of development and it is likely that we will see
the first PSC-based products on the market within the next five years. The focus of these
companies is as diverse as the perovskite material itself, as some take advantage of the low
processing temperature of perovskites to produce lightweight or flexible modules, while
others use the tunability of the perovskite bandgap to construct tandems, which can harvest
a larger portion of the solar spectrum more efficiently, or are exploiting high-throughput
roll-to-roll processes for large-scale manufacturing, aiming to rival silicon. Industry seems
less concerned about lead content in PSCs than the academic community, citing research
that lead is only a small contributor to environmental impacts [18] and having faith in
module packaging that not only keeps oxygen and moisture out, but also lead inside of
the module. It is also important to note that the lead content in PSCs is below regulatory
limits for standard modules. However, for lightweight applications this is not the case,
and lead will have to be effectively captured at the end of life of modules in all cases [19].
Another challenge then is managing the public opinion by presenting convincing evidence
that the benefits of PSCs far outweigh potential negative impacts. Advocates of tin-based
perovskites have their work cut out for them, as they will need to match the efficiency
and stability of their lead-based counterparts before industry seriously considers them. In
addition, tin is far from benign itself [20].
The future for PSCs is looking very promising. Having made phenomenal progress
in the last decade through academic research, they have now built up significant backing
by industry. PSCs are on track to contribute to establishing a clean and sustainable energy
future, and making sure that this bright future is also obtainable for those living in low-
and lower-middle income countries [21].
This Special Issue is composed of four papers (one review article) spanning various
topics in PSCs. The contributing authors shared some valuable insights on recent develop-
ments to bring PSCs from the lab to market. The guest editor briefly summarised the details
of each work, and highlighted the following three key areas in PSC development: lead-free
materials, stability and cost. Lastly, trends and future developments were discussed. The
guest editor would like to thank the contributions of all authors and reviewers and hopes
this Special Issue will be of use to researchers in the PSC field.

Funding: This research received no external funding.

Conflicts of Interest: The author declares no conflict of interest.

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Short Biography of Authors

Dr. Bart Roose obtained his Ph.D. from the Adolphe Merkle Institute (Fribourg, Switzerland), studying metal oxide contacts for
perovskite solar cells. He then took up a Newton International Fellowship at the Cavendish Laboratory (Cambridge, UK) to study
the aging and degradation mechanisms of lead halide perovskites. He is currently leading the photovoltaic research activities at the
Optoelectronic Materials and Device Spectroscopy Group in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (Cambridge,
UK), focusing on all-perovskite tandem solar cells. His research interests are dynamic processes in halide perovskites, sustainability,
and novel applications of emerging photovoltaic technologies.