Towards cost-efficient and stable perovskite solar cells and modules: utilization of self-assembled monolayers

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have attracted extensive attention in recent years due to their advantages such as low cost and flexibility. However, the serious charge recombination at the interface of the perovskite film and charge transport layers limit further improvement of the device performance to date. Thus, among the many methodologies to solve these issues, self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) are potential candidates due to their successful application in efficient PSCs. Accordingly, in this review, we introduce the recent progress of SAMs that have been extensively used as interfacial layers in PSCs and modules, with the aim to understand how to reduce the energy loss in PSCs by modulating the interfacial molecular interactions. According to the recent literature, we discuss the roles of the functional parts in SAMs and highlight the future design challenges/principles of SAMs. Finally, we emphasize that together with other strategies for interfacial modification, SAMs can push PSCs into future practical application, realizing cost-efficient and stable processing.