Defect suppression and passivation for perovskite solar cells: from the birth to the lifetime operation

Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite materials as a super star in the optoelectronics have showed great potential to lead a new photovoltaic technology revolution in the future. The main challenge blocking perovskite solar cells from industrialization is the instability issue, especially under heat, moisture, light or electric field conditions. The underlying mechanism for the current unsatisfactory stability performance is highly related to the defects in the solar cells. In particular, suppressing the defects evolvement in the perovskite absorbing layer is the key to maintain high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of solar cells due to the vulnerable and sensitive nature of perovskite materials. In this review, we analyzed the origins of defects in perovskite materials in the whole life cycle of perovskite devices and systematically discussed the effective strategies to eliminate or suppress the various intrinsic defects at three pivotal stages, namely, precursors, film fabrication and device operation. This review could potentially provide a new perspective for our peers to fabricate high-efficiency perovskite-based solar cells with stable performance, and further promoting the optimization and stabilization of perovskite related optoelectronics.