nanoNNOTERNanotechnologyNANONanotechnology0957-44841361-6528IOP Publishingnanoabcf6d10.1088/1361-6528/abcf6dabcf6dNANO-127077.R1Topical ReviewEnergy at the nanoscalePerovskite-inspired materials for photovoltaics and beyond—from design to devices0000-0002-4576-2338HuangYi-Teng10000-0003-4577-9647KavanaghSeán R2340000-0001-9174-8601ScanlonDavid O2450000-0001-5460-7033WalshAron360000-0002-7675-0065HoyeRobert L Z3r.hoye@imperial.ac.ukr.hoye@imperial.ac.uk Department of Physics, University of Cambridge, JJ Thomson Ave, Cambridge CB3 0HE, United Kingdom Department of Chemistry, University College London, 20 Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AJ, United Kingdom Department of Materials, Imperial College London, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom Thomas Young Centre, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom Diamond Light Source Ltd., Diamond House, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, United Kingdom Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul 120-749, Republic of Korea 26320210801202108012021321313200429012020141020200112202025022020© 2021 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd2021 Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.Abstract

Lead-halide perovskites have demonstrated astonishing increases in power conversion efficiency in photovoltaics over the last decade. The most efficient perovskite devices now outperform industry-standard multi-crystalline silicon solar cells, despite the fact that perovskites are typically grown at low temperature using simple solution-based methods. However, the toxicity of lead and its ready solubility in water are concerns for widespread implementation. These challenges, alongside the many successes of the perovskites, have motivated significant efforts across multiple disciplines to find lead-free and stable alternatives which could mimic the ability of the perovskites to achieve high performance with low temperature, facile fabrication methods. This Review discusses the computational and experimental approaches that have been taken to discover lead-free perovskite-inspired materials, and the recent successes and challenges in synthesizing these compounds. The atomistic origins of the extraordinary performance exhibited by lead-halide perovskites in photovoltaic devices is discussed, alongside the key challenges in engineering such high-performance in alternative, next-generation materials. Beyond photovoltaics, this Review discusses the impact perovskite-inspired materials have had in spurring efforts to apply new materials in other optoelectronic applications, namely light-emitting diodes, photocatalysts, radiation detectors, thin film transistors and memristors. Finally, the prospects and key challenges faced by the field in advancing the development of perovskite-inspired materials towards realization in commercial devices is discussed.

lead-halide perovskitesperovskite-inspired materialsmaterials discoverydefectsnon-radiative recombinationnanocrystalsdensity functional theoryMinistry of Education, TaiwanEngineering and Physical Sciences Research Council https://doi.org/10.13039/501100000266 EP/S023259/1H2020 European Research Council https://doi.org/10.13039/100010663 758345Royal Academy of Engineering https://doi.org/10.13039/501100000287 RF\201718\17101National Research Foundation of Korea https://doi.org/10.13039/501100003725 2018R1C1B6008728Downing College CambridgeKim and Juliana Silverman Research Fellowshipccc0957-4484/21/132004+60$33.00printedPrinted in the UKcrossmarkyes