Lead-Free Perovskite Materials for Solar Cells

• Main Authors: Minghao Wang, Wei Wang, Ben Ma, Wei Shen, Lihui Liu, Kun Cao, Shufen Chen, Wei Huang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SpringerOpen 2021-01-01
• Series: Nano-Micro Letters
• Subjects: Solar cells; Perovskite; Lead-free; First-principles calculation; Photovoltaic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-020-00578-z

Abstract The toxicity issue of lead hinders large-scale commercial production and photovoltaic field application of lead halide perovskites. Some novel non- or low-toxic perovskite materials have been explored for development of environmentally friendly lead-free perovskite solar cells (PSCs). This review studies the substitution of equivalent/heterovalent metals for Pb based on first-principles calculation, summarizes the theoretical basis of lead-free perovskites, and screens out some promising lead-free candidates with suitable bandgap, optical, and electrical properties. Then, it reports notable achievements for the experimental studies of lead-free perovskites to date, including the crystal structure and material bandgap for all of lead-free materials and photovoltaic performance and stability for corresponding devices. The review finally discusses challenges facing the successful development and commercialization of lead-free PSCs and predicts the prospect of lead-free PSCs in the future.