Perovskite solar cells: Promise of photovoltaics

A novel organic/inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cell has attracted great attention since June 2013, which is considered as one of the top 10 scientific breakthroughs in 2013. The solid planar structured perovskite solar cells are easy to prepare by means of chemical solution process with low fabrication cost and have already demonstrated the power conversion efficiency higher than 15%, likely surpassing 20% in the near future. The perovskite solar cells promise a bright future and would promote the development of the solar cell industry to make enormously significant impacts on economy and activities of the human society. In this paper, we review the progress in the recent development, fundamentals, and manufacturing of the perovskite solar cells, with the attention focused on the discussion of the key scientific challenges, the prospects of the future directions and the possible fabrication processes. We believe this paper would assist the researchers to embrace the opportunities of keeping up with the rapid progresses worldwide in this newly emerging solar cell field, contributing to the development of the green energy and environment in China.