Perovskites: Solar cells & engineering applications materials and device developments

Recent advancements in the area of perovskite photovoltaics have drawn wide attention of scientific community, mainly because of exceptional light absorbing properties exhibited by these organometallic halides. One of the main advantages perovskites have is their ability to be processed from solutions at relatively low temperatures. This paper briefly describes main structural, optical and electrical properties of perovskite materials, as well as the most popular solution processing techniques. We reflect on current progress in fabrication of solar cells containing organic inorganic perovskites, device inner workings and effect of cell architecture on efficiency, along with prospective fine tuning of device properties through alteration of organometallic halide structure. Over the span of only three years, reported photoconversion efficiencies of such devices went from 3.8% to over 19%, with further increase being expected in near future. Finally, we describe other prospective applications for different perovskite materials. There is no doubt that perovskite photovoltaics possess great potential to provide bright future for the field of solar cells research, but whether they are going to live up to their expectations, remains to be seen. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.