Charge carrier

Spontaneous emission

Physics

Nanotechnology

Laser

Crystallography

Gene

Optics

Semiconductor

Non-radiative recombination

Perovskite (structure)

Recombination

Chemical physics

Carrier lifetime

Chemistry

Materials science

Layer (electronics)

Semiconductor materials

Silicon

Passivation

Optoelectronics

Picosecond

Biochemistry

Advanced Materials

Perovskite solar cells combine high carrier mobilities with long carrier lifetimes and high radiative efficiencies. Despite this, full devices suffer from significant nonradiative recombination losses, limiting their V OC to values well below the Shockley–Queisser limit. Here, recent advances in understanding nonradiative recombination in perovskite solar cells from picoseconds to steady state are presented, with an emphasis on the interfaces between the perovskite absorber and the charge transport layers. Quantification of the quasi‐Fermi level splitting in perovskite films with and without attached transport layers allows to identify the origin of nonradiative recombination, and to explain the V OC of operational devices. These measurements prove that in state‐of‐the‐art solar cells, nonradiative recombination at the interfaces between the perovskite and the transport layers is more important than processes in the bulk or at grain boundaries. Optical pump‐probe techniques give complementary access to the interfacial recombination pathways and provide quantitative information on transfer rates and recombination velocities. Promising optimization strategies are also highlighted, in particular in view of the role of energy level alignment and the importance of surface passivation. Recent record perovskite solar cells with low nonradiative losses are presented where interfacial recombination is effectively overcome—paving the way to the thermodynamic efficiency limit.

Nonradiative Recombination in Perovskite Solar Cells: The Role of Interfaces