Renaissance of graphene-related materials in photovoltaics due to the emergence of metal halide perovskite solar cells

Abstract

The electronic and material properties of graphene have been explored in a number of electronic and optoelectronic devices including organic and metal halide perovskite solar cells have been explored. At present, graphene-based technology is considered to have many potential applications. Moreover, graphene-related materials offer graphene-like characteristics and the tunability of chemical, electrical and physical properties through doping and functionalization. Metal halide perovskite solar cells form the most advanced photovoltaic technology, showing an exponential increase in their certified power conversion efficiency. The most pronounced challenge is the stability of these devices, which has limited their practical applications and commercialization. The synergy between the properties of metal halide perovskite semiconductors and GRMs has recently been revealed and has contributed towards the realization of highly efficient perovskite solar cells with impressive operational stability. In this work, we review the progress made in the specific field of graphene-based metal halide perovskite solar cells since 2013. The impact of exploitation of graphene and GRMs on this photovoltaic technology is multi-fold, since it has resulted in the development of high-quality perovskite crystals for the fabrication of more stable and flexible devices exhibiting high performance.