Versatile Roles of Functionalized Fullerenes in Perovskite Solar Cells

Abstract

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have emerged as a promising avenue for the development of next-generation solar cells due to their high efficiency and low production costs. Fullerene materials possess high electron affinity, high electron mobility, and minimal recombination energy. Through functionalization, they play versatile roles in PSCs, such as promoting electron transfer, defect passivation, crystallization improvement, and hysteresis inhibition, leading to effectively enhance the power conversion efficiency (PCE) and stability. This review focuses on the recent advancements in utilizing functionalized fullerenes in PSCs, particularly emphasizing their versatile roles as charge transport materials, interfacial modification layers, and additives in perovskite active layer. The relationship between the chemical structures of functionalized fullerenes and device performance has also been a focus of investigation, providing valuable insights into how molecules design impacts overall functionality. Lastly, an outlook of future trends for functionalized fullerenes is provided with the aim of offering valuable insights for innovating new multi-functionalized fullerenes towards efficiency enhancement of PSCs.