Nanostructured materials for high efficiency perovskite solar cells

Capturing renewable energy has become an increasingly urgent task due to concerns over fossil fuel supplies and accessability in the future. Photovoltaic technology represents the most promising strategy to address this problem. However to date, no solar cell module has been able to satisfy the simultaneous requirements of high efficiency, low cost and long lifetime necessary for large scale production and application. Recent development in organic-inorganic halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) has shown great potential for large-scale application owing to the superb power conversion efficiency (PCE), facile device fabrication and low material cost. Since the first report of methyl ammonium lead halide, CH₃NH₃PbX₃ (X = Br, I), sensitized liquid solar cells in 2009, the PCEs of PSCs have jumped from 3.8 to 20.2 %. Research efforts on new preparation processes and materials design for PSCs still remain highly active. This chapter will concentrate on summarizing the recently reported nanostructured materials (i.e. TiO₂, Al₂O₃, ZnO, carbon materials and others) applied in PSCs. This chapter strives to present a comprehensive overview and provide a deep understanding of nanostructured materials in PSC devices.