Next-Generation Nanomaterials for Solar Cells: Physics, Fabrication, and Performance - A Mini Review

Abstract

Through enhanced light harvesting, charge transfer, and spectrum management, the quick development of nanostructured materials has significantly improved photovoltaic performance. With a focus on perovskites, perovskite quantum dots, colloidal quantum dots, plasmonic nanostructures, and emerging 2D materials, this mini-review critically synthesizes recent literature (2013–2025) on next-generation nanomaterials for solar cells. It also assesses the physical mechanisms, fabrication processes, device performance, and translational barriers of these materials. A thorough search of IEEE Xplore, Web of Science, and Scopus was conducted to find important modeling and experimental studies influencing modern device architectures. Through band-gap engineering and sophisticated light-management techniques, we discover that perovskite-based devices and perovskite/silicon tandem architectures have the highest lab-scale power-conversion efficiency (claims approaching ~30% for monolithic tandems). Practical deployment is nevertheless constrained by enduring issues, such as long-term operational stability under heat, moisture, and photo-stress; scaling up low-cost, environmentally friendly manufacturing; a lack of standardized stability testing (such as ISOS-compliant protocols); and a lack of mechanistic studies of degradation pathways.Comparing investigation reveals trade-offs between higher cost and processing complexity and efficiency improvements from complicated nano-additives (such as plasmonic/gold nanostructures). To expedite the transition from laboratory demonstrations to commercially viable photovoltaic technologies, we suggest the following priority actions: adoption of standardized stability metrics, life-cycle and cost analyses, development of lead-free/low-toxicity chemistries, scalable deposition methods, and AI-driven nanostructure optimization.