Recent advances of Cu-based hole transport materials and their interface engineering concerning different processing methods in perovskite solar cells

In recent years, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have become a much charming photovoltaic technology and have triggered enormous studies worldwide, owing to their high efficiency, low cost and ease of prepa-ration. The power conversion efficiency has rapidly increased by more than 6 times to the current 25.5% in the past decade. Hole transport materials (HTMs) are an indispensable part of PSCs, which great affect the efficiency, the cost and the stability of PSCs. Inorganic Cu-based p-type semiconductors are a kind of representative inorganic HTMs in PSCs due to their unique advantages of rich variety, low cost, excellent hole mobility, adjustable energy levels, good stability, low temperature and scalable processing ability. In this review, the research progress in new materials and the control of photoelectric properties of Cu-based inorganic HTMs were first summarized systematically. And then, concerning different processing methods, advances of the interface engineering of Cu-based hole transport layers (HTLs) in PSCs were detailly discussed. Finally, the challenges and future trends of Cu-based inorganic HTMs and their inter-face engineering in PSCs were analyzed. (c) 2021 Science Press and Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. and Science Press. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have gained significant attention in the past decade due to their high efficiency and low cost, with the power conversion efficiency increasing rapidly. Inorganic Cu-based p-type semiconductors are important for PSCs, offering advantages like variety, low cost, good mobility, adjustable energy levels, stability, low temperature processing, and scalability. Challenges and future trends in Cu-based inorganic HTMs and interface engineering in PSCs were analyzed.