Perovskite solar cell×Electrolyte

Perovskite solar cells' dominant unsolved problem—ion migration causing hysteresis, degradation, and voltage loss—is structurally identical to the problem solid-state electrolyte researchers have spent a decade solving for lithium and sodium batteries. The bridge fields (Ion, Phase, Voltage, Cathode) reveal a shared mechanical vocabulary that has not yet produced joint papers, meaning the synthesis moment is imminent rather than past. When it arrives, electrolyte-derived ion-blocking interlayers and solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) frameworks will be retargeted at perovskite grain boundaries, unlocking the stability needed for commercialization.

45 authors already publish independently in both literatures—a classic pre-fusion signal where cross-pollination is happening at the bench but the landmark cross-disciplinary paper has not yet been written. The electrolyte field's recent-share (0.051) is growing 2.5× faster than perovskite's (0.02), meaning electrolyte momentum is the attractor. Shared bridge fields—Ion, Phase (matter), Voltage, and Cathode—show the conceptual scaffolding is already in place. The high-citation electrolyte corpus (solid-state Li, Na-ion) is mature enough to export frameworks, while perovskite is still urgently importing solutions. The structural gap (different communities, no direct co-publication yet) is the gap about to close.

Groups that have built expertise in solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) chemistry or superionic conductors and who also hold perovskite interface engineering capacity will dominate. This points to materials science groups at major battery-solar crossover institutions in South Korea, China (Shaanxi, Nanjing), Switzerland (EPFL), and the UK, where both literatures are funded in parallel. Researchers who pioneered quasi-solid and ionic-gel electrolytes for dye-sensitized solar cells are the nearest adjacency and the most immediately positioned to pivot. The winning move is applying lithium-ion-blocking coating architectures—already validated in solid-state battery anodes—to perovskite electron transport layer interfaces.

A head-to-head experimental campaign applying established solid-state battery SEI chemistries—specifically lithium phosphorus oxynitride (LiPON) and garnet-type oxide coatings—as ultrathin interlayers at the perovskite/electron-transport-layer interface, with the primary metric being suppression of ion migration current under operational bias and elevated temperature, benchmarked against current champion passivation strategies, without penalizing PCE below 23%.