Enhancing Perovskite Solar Cells With Rare-Earth Metal Doped Zinc Oxide: A Review of Electron Mobility, Stability, and Photocarrier Recombination

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is an important electron transfer layer (ETL) material due to its optical and electrical properties, maintaining its pivotal role in advancing perovskite solar cells (PSCs) given its high experimental accessibility and reported high power conversion efficiencies (PCEs). Recent studies reveal that doping ZnO nanomaterials with dual-functioning rare-earth metal (REM) ions can further bolster PCEs of ZnO-based PSCs. This review synthesizes recent empirical studies on REM-doped ZnO, focusing on enhancing PSC electron mobility, stability, and mitigating photocarrier recombination. Additionally, it examines the shift from mesoscopic to planar PSC architectures, underscores synthesis/fabrication strategies, and investigates REMs’ potential in ZnO for up/down conversion processes. Despite potential cost implications, REMs consistently achieve remarkable PCEs of up to 22.9% in ZnO-based devices.