Functional Films and Coatings for Perovskite Solar Cells: Stability, Efficiency and Scalability

Dear Colleagues,

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have garnered significant attention as a transformative technology for renewable energy, offering high levels of efficiency and cost-effective production. However, their long-term stability, efficiency optimization, and scalability for industrial applications remain key challenges. Functional films and coatings play a pivotal role in overcoming these hurdles, enabling enhanced charge transport, environmental protection, and scalable manufacturing. Fueled by the demand for robust PSCs that can withstand diverse environmental stressors and the need for efficient, large-scale production, research into advanced films and coatings—such as organic, inorganic, and hybrid materials—has surged.

The manufacture, design, and testing of high-performance nanostructured films and coatings, including electroactive materials (e.g., electron/hole transport layers, conductive oxides, and organic semiconductors) or protective barrier layers (e.g., organic polymers, inorganic oxides, and hybrid composites) or their combinations, offer unprecedented functionality and opportunities for enhancing perovskite solar cells (PSCs). These advanced coatings improve charge transport, ensure long-term stability against environmental stressors (e.g., moisture, UV radiation, and thermal degradation), and enable scalable production for applications in next-generation photovoltaics.

The scope of this Special Issue will serve as a forum for papers in the following concepts:

• Theoretical and experimental research on functional films and coatings for improving the stability, efficiency, and scalability of perovskite solar cells.
• Recent developments in organic, inorganic, and hybrid coatings for charge transport, interface passivation, and environmental protection.
• Films and coatings produced by various processes, including but not limited to solution-based methods, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), and scalable printing techniques.
• Experimental and processing advancements in high-performance coatings for PSCs exposed to environmental stressors such as moisture, heat, UV radiation, and mechanical strain.
• Understanding degradation mechanisms of functional films and coatings under operational and environmental conditions, including chemical, photochemical, and mechanical degradation.
• Development of novel test methods to evaluate the interplay between stability, efficiency, and scalability, with an emphasis on accelerated aging tests and correlations between laboratory results and field performance.
• Computer modeling and simulation to predict the properties, performance, durability, and reliability of functional films and coatings in PSC devices.

Dr. Lijun Cao
Dr. Xinyan Dai
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Coatings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• perovskite solar cells
• efficiency
• coatings
• stability
• scalability