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In just over a decade, certified single-junction perovskite solar cells (PSCs) boast an impressive power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 26.1%. Such outstanding performance makes it highly viable for further development. Here, we have meticulously outlined challenges that arose during the industrialization of PSCs and proposed their corresponding solutions based on extensive research. We discussed the main challenges in this field including technological limitations, multi-scenario applications, sustainable development, etc. Mature photovoltaic solutions provide the perovskite community with invaluable insights for overcoming the challenges of industrialization. In the upcoming stages of PSCs advancement, it has become evident that addressing the challenges concerning long-term stability and sustainability is paramount. In this manner, we can facilitate a more effective integration of PSCs into our daily lives., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Dimension growth of metal halides is important for its properties and applications. However, such dimension control of the metal halides is rarely reported in the literature and the growth mechanism is not clear yet. A minute difference of solvent properties can tremendously alter the process of nucleation and growth of crystals. Herein, an intriguing phenomenon of dimension tuning for Ag-based metal halides is reported. The 1D Cs 2 AgCl 3 crystals can be obtained in pure DMF while the 2D CsAgCl 2 crystals are obtained in pure DMSO. Both exhibit bright yellow emission, which are derived from self-trapping excitons (STEs). The photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of Cs 2 AgCl 3 (1D) and CsAgCl 2 (2D) are 28.46 % and 20.61 %, respectively. In order to understand the mechanism of the dimension change, additional solvents (N,N-dimethylacetamide, DMAC, 1,3-Dimethyl-Tetrahydropyrimidin-2(1H)-one, DMPU) are also selected to process the precursor for crystal growth. By comparing the functional group, dielectric constant, and donor number among the four solvents, we find the donor number plays the predominant role in nucleation process for Cs 2 AgCl 3 and CsAgCl 2 . This research reveals the relationship between coordination ability of the solvent and the dimension of metal halides., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Optical materials play a momentous role in anti-counterfeiting field, such as authentication, currency and security. The development of tunable optical properties and optical responses to a range of external stimuli is quite imperative for the growing demand of optical anti-counterfeiting technology. Metal halide perovskites have attracted much attention of researchers due to their excellent optical properties. In addition, co-doping methods have been gradually applied to the research of metal halide perovskites, by which more abundant luminescence phenomena can be introduced into the host perovskite. Herein, the ns 2 ions of bismuth (Bi 3+ ) and antimony (Sb 3+ ) ions co-doped zero-dimensional Cs 2 SnCl 6 metal halide with an excitation-wavelength-dependent emission phenomenon is synthesized as an efficient multimodal luminescent material, the luminescence of which is tunable and covers a wide region of color. What's more, a dynamic dual-emission phenomenon is captured when the excitation wavelength changes from 320 nm to 420 nm for Cs 2 SnCl 6 :Bi 0.08 Sb 0.12 crystals. Moreover, the Bi 3+ and Sb 3+ doped metal halide material shows great enhancement in solvent resistance and thermal stability compared to the pristine Cs 2 SnCl 6 . The admirable stability and distinguishable photoluminescence (PL) phenomenon of this all-inorganic metal halide has great potential to be applied in optical anti-counterfeiting technology. Furthermore, the co-doping method can accelerate the discovery of new luminescence phenomena in original metal halide perovskites., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Zero-dimensional metal halides have attracted much attention due to their attractive photoelectric properties. Here, we propose a new strategy of synthesizing metal halides crystals by recrystallization in water. The as-synthesized Cs 2 InCl 5 (H 2 O)-orange crystals are dissolved and recrystallized in water (Cs 2 InCl 5 (H 2 O)-blue), with its photoluminescence (PL) changing from orange to blue, both of which are derived from self-trapping excitons (STEs). The time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) spectrum of Cs 2 InCl 5 (H 2 O)-blue shows that it has an ultralong lifetime up to milliseconds (τ=52.98 ms), which is expected to be applied in biological sensors. The photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) increases from 2.25% to 11.61% in the self-assembly process. By using a post-doping method, the PL of crystals turns into red when we introduce Mn 2+ as dopant while there is no obvious change upon using a traditional solvent-thermal method. Recrystallization in water and post-doping provide a new perspective for the synthesis and doping of metal halides., (© 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 25 % mainly have SnO 2 or TiO 2 as electron-transporting layers (ETLs). Now, zinc titanate (ZnTiO 3 , ZTO) is proposed as mesoporous ETLs owing to its weak photo-effect, excellent carrier extraction, and transfer properties. Uniform mesoporous films were obtained by spinning coating the ZTO ink and annealed below 150 °C. Photovoltaic devices based on Cs 0.05 FA 0.81 MA 0.14 PbI 2.55 B r0.45 perovskite sandwiched between SnO 2 -mesorporous ZTO electrode and Spiro-OMeTAD layer achieved the PCE of 20.5 %. The PSCs retained more than 95 % of their original efficiency after 100 days lifetime test without being encapsulated. Additionally, the PSCs retained over 95 % of the initial performance when subjected at the maximum power point voltage for 120 h under AM 1.5 G illumination (100 mW cm -2 ), demonstrating superior working stability. The application of ZTO provides a better choice for ETLs of PSCs., (© 2019 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Understanding interfacial loss and the ways to improving interfacial property is critical to fabricate highly efficient and reproducible perovskite solar cells (PSCs). In SnO 2 -based PSCs, nonradiative recombination sites at the SnO 2 -perovskite interface lead to a large potential loss and performance variation in the resulting photovoltaic devices. Here, a novel SnO 2 -in-polymer matrix (i.e., polyethylene glycol) is devised as the electron transporting layer to improve the film quality of the SnO 2 electron transporting layer. The SnO 2 -in-polymer matrix is fabricated through spin-coating a polymer-incorporated SnO 2 colloidal ink. The polymer is uniformly dispersed in SnO 2 colloidal ink and promotes the nanoparticle disaggregation in the ink. Owing to polymer incorporation, the compactness and wetting property of SnO 2 layer is significantly ameliorated. Finally, photovoltaic devices based on Cs 0.05 FA 0.81 MA 0.14 PbI 2.55 Br 0.45 perovskite sandwiched between SnO 2 and Spiro-OMeTAD layer are fabricated. Compared with the averaging power conversion efficiency of 16.2% with 1.2% deviation for control devices, the optimized devices exhibit an improved averaging efficiency of 19.5% with 0.25% deviation. The conception of polymer incorporation in the electron transporting layer paves a way to further increase the performance of planar perovskite solar cells., (© 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

A luminescent homochiral uranyl succinate coordination polymer with unprecedented three-directional helices was synthesized hydrothermally via spontaneous symmetry breaking, and fully characterized. Its homochirality has been confirmed by singe crystal X-ray diffraction and solid state circular dichroism (CD) spectra. The polymer exhibited a Stokes shift greater than 180 nm.