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Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) that have a positive–intrinsic–negative (p–i–n, or often referred to as inverted) structure are becoming increasingly attractive for commercialization owing to their rapid increase in power conversion efficiency, easily scalable fabrication, reliable operation and compatibility with various perovskite-based tandem device configurations. Here, we review key material and device considerations for making highly efficient and stable p–i–n PSCs. First, we summarize key advances in charge transport materials, which were critical to the rapid power conversion efficiency progress. Second, we discuss promising perovskite compositions and fabrication methods. We highlight various additive engineering approaches to improve the perovskite layer as well as interface engineering strategies that target either the buried or top perovskite surface layer. Third, we review progress in tandem devices, focusing on optimization of the interconnection layer. Next, we summarize the status and strategies for improving p–i–n PSC stability, especially considering the challenges of outdoor applications. We also provide prospects for future research directions and challenges. Inverted (p–i–n) perovskite solar cells are promising candidates for real-life applications. This Review discusses the current status of this technology, key strategies for stability and efficiency improvements — from the materials selection to interface engineering and device construction — and future outlooks.

Based on experimental results, this theoretical study presents a new approach for investigating polymers’ solar cells. P-type PZT:C1 and N-type PBDB:T were used to construct a blend for use as a photoactive layer for the proposed all-polymer solar cell. Initially, an architecture of an ITO/PEDOT:PSS/PBDB:T/PZT:C1/PFN-Br/Ag all-polymer solar device calibrated with experimental results achieved a PCE of 14.91%. A novel inverted architecture of the same solar device, proposed for the first time in this paper, achieved a superior PCE of 19.92%. Furthermore, the optimization of the doping of the transport layers is proposed in this paper. Moreover, the defect density and the thickness of the polymer are studied, and a PCE of 22.67% was achieved by the optimized cell, which is one of the highest PCEs of polymer solar devices. Finally, the optimized polymer solar cell showed good stability amidst temperature variations. This theoretical study sheds light on the inverted structure of all-polymer solar devices.

Inverted (p-i-n) CsPbIxBr3−x (x = 0~3) perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are of growing interest due to their excellent thermal stability and optoelectronic performance. However, they suffer from severe energy level mismatch and significant interfacial energy losses at the bottom hole transport layers (HTLs). Herein, we propose a strategy to simultaneously enhance the crystallinity of CsPbI2.85Br0.15 and facilitate hole extraction at the HTL/CsPbI2.85Br0.15 interface by incorporating semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) onto [2-(3,6-dimethoxy-9H-carbazol-9-yl)ethyl] phosphonic acid (MeO-2PACz) HTL. The unique electrical properties of SWCNTs enable the MeO-2PACz/SWCNT HTL to achieve high conductivity, optimal energy level alignment, and an adaptable surface. Consequently, the defect density is reduced, hole extraction is accelerated, and interfacial charge recombination is effectively suppressed. As a result, these synergistic benefits boost the power conversion efficiency (PCE) from 15.74% to 18.78%. Moreover, unencapsulated devices retained 92.35% of their initial PCE after 150 h of storage in ambient air and 89.03% after accelerated aging at 85 °C for 10 h. These findings highlight the strong potential of SWCNTs as an effective interlayer for inverted CsPbI2.85Br0.15 PSCs and provide a promising strategy for designing high-performance HTLs by integrating SWCNTs with self-assembled monolayers (SAMs).

Extensive research on organic solar cells (OSCs) over the past decade has led to efficiency improvements exceeding 18%. Enhancing the efficacy of binary organic solar cells involves multiple factors, including the strategic selection of materials. The choice of donor and acceptor materials, which must exhibit complementary absorption spectra, is crucial. Additionally, optimizing the solar cell structure, such as adjusting the thickness of layers and incorporating hole-transporting layers, can further increase efficiency. In this study, we simulated three different novels within the use of the inorganic SnO2 on the OSCs within this specific arrangement of structures using a drift-diffusion model: direct and inverted binary; direct ternary configurations of OSCs, specifically ITO/PEDOT: PSS/PM6:L8-BO/SnO2/Ag, ITO/SnO2/PM6:L8-BO/PEDOT: PSS/Ag; and FTO/PEDOT: PSS/PM6:D18:L8-BO/SnO2/Ag. These structures achieved power conversion efficiencies (PCE) of 18.34%, 18.37%, and 19.52%, respectively. The direct ternary device achieved an important Voc of 0.89 V and an FF of 82.3%, which is high in comparison with other simulated results in the literature. Our research focused on the role of SnO2 as an inorganic electron transport layer in enhancing efficiency in all three configurations. We also evaluated the properties of these structures by simulating external quantum efficiency (EQE), which results in a broadened absorption spectrum from 380 nm to 900 nm for both binary and ternary devices. Furthermore, we measured the spectral distribution of absorbed photons, and photo-charge extraction by linearly increasing voltage (photo-CELIV) to assess charge extraction and generation rates as well as charge mobility. These measurements help establish a robust model for practical application.

Despite significant development of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) in the last few years, several issues need to be addressed for commercialization. The fabrication of a 2-dimensional/3-dimensional (2D/3D) perovskite layer as the light absorbing layer has recently come up as one of the most efficient methods to overcome this barrier without compromising the physical functionality of the device. Additionally, the inverted p–i–n configuration of2D/3D bilayer PSCs has caught lots of attention in the recent years owing to low-cost, low-temperature growth process and inhibited hysteresis properties. In this study, we introduce an inverted 2D/3D bilayer PSC with a novel configuration of FTO/NiO x /BA 2 MA 3 Pb 4 I 13 /MAPbI 3 /C60/Au and computationally study the parameters that affect the performance of the modeled device. Considerable power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 28.24% was achieved after optimizing the performance.

Energy harvesting from cleaner sources and preserving the environment from dangerous gasses are presently the key priorities globally to maintain sustainable development. In this context, photovoltaic technology plays a vital role in generating energy from ternary organic solar cells. Ternary organic solar cells display significant potential for achieving outstanding photovoltaic performance compared to binary structures. Over the past few years, significant endeavors to develop novel organic materials have led to a consistent rise in efficiency, surpassing 19% for single-junction devices. In our study, we simulated an inverted ternary organic solar cell (TOSC) structure employing the one-dimensional optical and drift diffusion model and using “Oghma-Nano 8.0.034” software by optimizing the active blend thickness at 80 nm within the structure of ITO/SnO2/PM6:D18:L8-BO/PEDOT:PSS/Ag. We simulated different performance parameters such as EQE, Photo-CELIV, PCE, Jsc, Voc, and FF with different active layer thicknesses ranging from 50 to 200 nm to discover the behavior of the device in terms of efficiency parameters. Furthermore, the structure attained a PCE of 20% for an active layer thickness of 80 nm within a Jsc of 27.2 mA cm−2, a Voc of 0.89 V, and an FF of 82.3%. This approach can potentially be valuable in constructing a highly effective TOSC model in the laboratory.

The effect of Al doping on the NiFe 2 O 4 phase for the enhanced magnetic properties of α -Fe 2 O 3 /NiFe 2 O 4 composite has been reported. The crystalline quality of the samples improves significantly with increasing Al doping concentration. The formation of core–shell structure in the samples along with the reduction in shell thickness with Al doping has been evidenced through morphological characterization. All the samples show the optical band gap value of 1.7 eV that could produce higher efficiency toward the visible light absorption. All the samples show the doubly inverted structure ( T N  >  T c ). The low saturation magnetization and high coercivity in the Al-doped samples in comparison with the un-doped sample are observed because of the paramagnetic spin configuration of Al ions and interface coupling between α -Fe 2 O 3 and NiFe 2 O 4 phases. The different exchange coupling in Al-modified α -Fe 2 O 3 /NiFe 2 O 4 composite systems could be associated with the NiFe 2 O 4 phase. The occurrence of narrow band gap, ferromagnetism, loop shift, freezing temperature and doubly inverted structure in the nanocomposite samples could be beneficial for photo-electrochemical water splitting, photo-catalyst and magnetic memory device applications.

In contrast to conventional ( n – i – p ) perovskite solar cells (PSCs), inverted ( p – i – n ) PSCs offer enhanced stability and integrability with tandem solar cell architectures, which have garnered increasing interest. However, p – i – n cells suffer from energy level misalignment with transport layers, imbalanced transport of photo-generated electrons and holes, and significant defects with the perovskite films. Here we introduce tris(2,4,6-trimethyl-3-(pyridin-3-yl)phenyl)borane (3TPYMB), a nonionic n -type molecule that, through hydrogen bonding and Lewis acid–base reactions with perovskite surfaces or grain boundaries, enables in situ modulation of perovskite energetics, effectively mitigating the key challenges of p – i – n PSCs. The p – i – n PSCs incorporating 3TPYMB achieve a certified quasi-steady-state power conversion efficiency of 24.55 ± 0.33%, with a reverse scan efficiency of 25.58%. They also exhibit exceptional stability, with unencapsulated devices retaining 97.8% of their initial efficiency after 1,800 h of continuous operation at maximum power point under N 2 atmosphere, 1 sun illumination and 60 °C conditions. The introduction of 3TPYMB, an n -type molecule into inverted perovskite solar cells, enables a power conversion efficiency of 25.6%, with devices maintaining up to 98% of the initial efficiency after 1,800 h of operation.

Interfacial properties of a hole‐transport material (HTM) and a perovskite layer are of high importance, which can influence the interfacial charge transfer dynamics as well as the growth of perovskite bulk crystals particularly in inverted structure. The halogen bonding (XB) has been recognized as a powerful functional group to be integrated with new small molecule HTMs. Herein, a carbazole‐based halo (iodine)‐functional HTM (O1), is synthesized for the first time, demonstrating a high hole mobility and suitable energy levels that align well with those of perovskites. The strong interaction between O1 and perovskite, i.e., I···I−, induces the formation of an ordered interlayer, which are verified by both theoretical and experimental studies. Compared to the reference HTM (O2) without any halo‐function, the XB‐induced interlayer effectively enhances the interfacial charge extraction efficiency, while significantly hindering the non‐radiative charge recombination by reducing the surface traps upon the strong passivation effect. This is reflected as a big increase in the open‐circuit voltage by up to 114 mV in the fabrication of inverted devices with the highest power conversion efficiency of 22.34%. Moreover, the ordered XB‐driven interlayer at the interface of O1 and perovskite is mainly responsible for the extended lifespan under the operational conditions. A new carbazole‐based halo (iodine)‐functional small molecule (O1) is successfully synthesized and employed as a hole‐transport material (HTM) in inverted perovskite solar cells. Compared to the reference O2 HTM without any halo‐function, the strong interaction between O1 and perovskite, i.e., I···I‐ halogen bonding, leads to a big increase by 114 mV in the open‐circuit voltage of corresponding devices.

Due to the optical properties of the electron transport layer (ETL) and hole transport layer (HTL), inverted perovskite solar cells can perform better than traditional perovskite solar cells. It is essential to compare both types to understand their efficiencies. In this article, we studied inverted perovskite solar cells with NiOx/CH3NH3Pb3/ETL (ETL = MoO3, TiO2, ZnO) structures. Our results showed that the optimal thickness of NiOx is 80 nm for all structures. The optimal perovskite thickness is 600 nm for solar cells with ZnO and MoO3, and 800 nm for those with TiO2. For the ETLs, the best thicknesses are 100 nm for ZnO, 80 nm for MoO3, and 60 nm for TiO2. We found that the efficiencies of inverted perovskite solar cells with ZnO, MoO3, and TiO2 as ETLs, and with optimal layer thicknesses, are 30.16%, 18.69%, and 35.21%, respectively. These efficiencies are 1.5%, 5.7%, and 1.5% higher than those of traditional perovskite solar cells. Our study highlights the potential of optimizing layer thicknesses in inverted perovskite solar cells to achieve higher efficiencies than traditional structures.