# Perovskite solar cell: from crystal to device

> A zoom-in cascade through a perovskite solar cell: the device stack, its light-absorbing polycrystalline film between the two charge contacts, and the ABX₃ crystal of corner-sharing octahedra as a live 3D model. Light frees electrons and holes in the film; TiO₂ takes the electrons, spiro-OMeTAD the holes, and the electrodes carry the current out. Milestones from 3.8% in 2009 to a certified 25.5% in 2021.

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- Updated: 2026-10-14
- Category: Materials graphical abstracts
- Method: Graphical abstract
- Starting materials: Methylammonium iodide and PbI₂, which react to (CH₃NH₃)PbI₃ (Kim et al. 2012)
- Product: A perovskite cell: FTO glass / TiO₂ / perovskite / spiro-OMeTAD / Au
- Key result: 3.8% for the first CH₃NH₃PbI₃-sensitised cell (Kojima et al. 2009); 9.7% all-solid-state with spiro-MeOTAD (Kim et al. 2012); diffusion lengths > 1 µm in CH₃NH₃PbI₃₋ₓClₓ vs ~100 nm in CH₃NH₃PbI₃ (Stranks et al. 2013); 25.8%, certified 25.5% (Min et al. 2021)
- Figure: 1920 × 1080 px, 81 editable layers (3 generated objects with settings)

## Steps

1. **The crystal**: ABX₃: a 3D network of corner-sharing BX₆ octahedra (B = Pb, X = I or Br) with methylammonium (A) between them
2. **The film**: A polycrystalline perovskite layer absorbs the light; in mixed-halide CH₃NH₃PbI₃₋ₓClₓ electrons and holes diffuse more than 1 µm
3. **The cell**: Layers on FTO glass: TiO₂ (electron contact), the perovskite absorber, spiro-OMeTAD (hole contact) and a gold electrode
4. **Light to current**: Holes go into spiro-OMeTAD, electrons into TiO₂, and both are collected at the front and back contacts as photocurrent

## Uses

- Graphical abstracts
- Talks and posters on perovskite photovoltaics
- Teaching how a thin-film solar cell works

## References

1. Kojima, Teshima, Shirai & Miyasaka, “Organometal halide perovskites as visible-light sensitizers for photovoltaic cells”, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2009. https://doi.org/10.1021/ja809598r (primary)
2. Kim, Lee, Im, Lee, Moehl, Marchioro, Moon, Humphry-Baker, Yum, Moser, Grätzel & Park, “Lead iodide perovskite sensitized all-solid-state submicron thin film mesoscopic solar cell with efficiency exceeding 9%”, Sci. Rep. 2012. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep00591 (primary)
3. Stranks, Eperon, Grancini, Menelaou, Alcocer, Leijtens, Herz, Petrozza & Snaith, “Electron-hole diffusion lengths exceeding 1 micrometer in an organometal trihalide perovskite absorber”, Science 2013. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1243982 (primary)
4. Min, Lee, Kim, Kim, Lee, Kim, Paik, Kim, Kim, Kim, Shin & Seok, “Perovskite solar cells with atomically coherent interlayers on SnO₂ electrodes”, Nature 2021. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03964-8 (primary)
5. Jena, Kulkarni & Miyasaka, “Halide Perovskite Photovoltaics: Background, Status, and Future Prospects”, Chem. Rev. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemrev.8b00539 (review)
6. Farigliano, Gomes-Filho, Reily Rocha & Martini Dalpian, “Precessional Dynamics of Octahedra in CsPbBr₃”, J. Chem. Theory Comput. 2026. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jctc.5c02166 (further reading)
7. Xie, Morgenstein, Hansen, … Blum & Mitzi, “Dimensionality-Controlled Confinement Effects for Tunable Optoelectronic Properties in Quasi-1D Hybrid Perovskites”, ACS Nano 2025. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.4c16359 (further reading)

Credit: Drawn by LabCanvas after Kojima et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2009 (doi:10.1021/ja809598r), Kim et al., Sci. Rep. 2012 (doi:10.1038/srep00591), Stranks et al., Science 2013 (doi:10.1126/science.1243982) and Min et al., Nature 2021 (doi:10.1038/s41586-021-03964-8). Crystal, film and stack schematic.

## Questions

**What does the “Perovskite solar cell: from crystal to device” template show?** A zoom-in cascade through a perovskite solar cell: the device stack, its light-absorbing polycrystalline film between the two charge contacts, and the ABX₃ crystal of corner-sharing octahedra as a live 3D model. Light frees electrons and holes in the film; TiO₂ takes the electrons, spiro-OMeTAD the holes, and the electrodes carry the current out. Milestones from 3.8% in 2009 to a certified 25.5% in 2021.

**What are the steps shown in “Perovskite solar cell: from crystal to device”?** 1. The crystal: ABX₃: a 3D network of corner-sharing BX₆ octahedra (B = Pb, X = I or Br) with methylammonium (A) between them. 2. The film: A polycrystalline perovskite layer absorbs the light; in mixed-halide CH₃NH₃PbI₃₋ₓClₓ electrons and holes diffuse more than 1 µm. 3. The cell: Layers on FTO glass: TiO₂ (electron contact), the perovskite absorber, spiro-OMeTAD (hole contact) and a gold electrode. 4. Light to current: Holes go into spiro-OMeTAD, electrons into TiO₂, and both are collected at the front and back contacts as photocurrent.

**What are the starting materials and the product?** Starting materials: Methylammonium iodide and PbI₂, which react to (CH₃NH₃)PbI₃ (Kim et al. 2012). Product: A perovskite cell: FTO glass / TiO₂ / perovskite / spiro-OMeTAD / Au.

**Which papers is “Perovskite solar cell: from crystal to device” based on?** Kojima, Teshima, Shirai & Miyasaka, “Organometal halide perovskites as visible-light sensitizers for photovoltaic cells”, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2009 (doi:10.1021/ja809598r); Kim, Lee, Im, Lee, Moehl, Marchioro, Moon, Humphry-Baker, Yum, Moser, Grätzel & Park, “Lead iodide perovskite sensitized all-solid-state submicron thin film mesoscopic solar cell with efficiency exceeding 9%”, Sci. Rep. 2012 (doi:10.1038/srep00591); Stranks, Eperon, Grancini, Menelaou, Alcocer, Leijtens, Herz, Petrozza & Snaith, “Electron-hole diffusion lengths exceeding 1 micrometer in an organometal trihalide perovskite absorber”, Science 2013 (doi:10.1126/science.1243982); Min, Lee, Kim, Kim, Lee, Kim, Paik, Kim, Kim, Kim, Shin & Seok, “Perovskite solar cells with atomically coherent interlayers on SnO₂ electrodes”, Nature 2021 (doi:10.1038/s41586-021-03964-8); Jena, Kulkarni & Miyasaka, “Halide Perovskite Photovoltaics: Background, Status, and Future Prospects”, Chem. Rev. 2019 (doi:10.1021/acs.chemrev.8b00539); Farigliano, Gomes-Filho, Reily Rocha & Martini Dalpian, “Precessional Dynamics of Octahedra in CsPbBr₃”, J. Chem. Theory Comput. 2026 (doi:10.1021/acs.jctc.5c02166); Xie, Morgenstein, Hansen, … Blum & Mitzi, “Dimensionality-Controlled Confinement Effects for Tunable Optoelectronic Properties in Quasi-1D Hybrid Perovskites”, ACS Nano 2025 (doi:10.1021/acsnano.4c16359).

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