Green solvent strategies for the sustainable development of perovskite solar cells
David Sunghwan Lee, Hyong Joon Lee, Yunmi Song, Jin Kyoung Park, Jin Hyuck Heo, Sang Hyuk Im
Abstract
Perovskite solar cells have been of great interest over the past decade, reaching a remarkable power conversion efficiency of 26.7%, which is comparable to best performing silicon devices. Moreover, the capability of perovskite solar cells to be solution-processed at low cost makes them an ideal candidate for future photovoltaic systems that could replace expensive silicon and III-V systems. However, the current state of solution-processing of perovskite solar cells is heavily dependent on toxic solvents such as DMF, chlorobenzene, diethyl ether and so on. As perovskite devices approach commercialization and large-scale fabrication, a solution must first be found to reduce the toxic risks associated with the processes. This review article presents a summary of general attempts at achieving fully green-processed perovskite solar cell fabrication. A thorough examination of popular solvents and possible alternatives is first performed, followed by their applications in perovskite layer fabrication (including solvents and anti-solvents) and charge transport layer fabrication processes.