Perovskite and Quantum Dot Solar Cells - Recent Advances and Hybrid Architectures

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) and quantum dot solar cells (QDSCs) are two promising classes of third-generation photovoltaic technologies that have garnered great attention due to their tunable optoelectronic properties and economical solution-processable nature. Alongside this, hybrid perovskite-quantum dot solar cells (PQDSCs) have newly emerged as an interface-engineering strategy that attempts to exploit the complementary advantages of both material systems. In this paper, a comparative evaluation of PSCs, QDSCs, and PQDSCs is conducted, with emphasis on how absorber properties, charge transport regimes, and interfacial design determine device performance and practical viability. Moreover, operating mechanisms and viable architectures of each are described, while systematic comparisons of power conversion efficiency, operational stability, manufacturability, and environmental impact are also made. PSCs consistently achieved the highest efficiencies due to strong optical absorption, near-optimal bandgap alignment, and effective carrier transport. Despite offering spectral tunability and flexibility in integration, QDSCs are limited by suboptimal inter-dot transport and surface-related instability. PQDSCs efficiencies have shown incremental improvement to QDSCs’, but their complex structure and processing mechanisms lead to significant challenges in uniformity and interfacial stability. In addition, this analysis makes clear that when working towards the integration of recent laboratory discoveries into real-life applications, obstacles in stability, reproducibility, and manufacturing reliability must be tackled with the same rigour and focus as efficiency optimization on the material scale.