Abstract

The high demand of clean and renewable energy that is accelerated by the international regulations has made solar energy to be a pillar of the transition in energy sustainability. Due to its proliferation, wide openness, decentralized capability to generate, and decreasing prices, solar photovoltaics (PV) has become one of the most promising technologies to obtain electricity. The PV technologies have gone through three generations: first-generation silicon-based crystalline technologies, second-generation thin films, and third-generation solution-processed technologies, including perovskites, organic cells, and quantum dots. The current review critically assesses the development of these technologies by focusing on their principles of operation, materials, and limitations to show the trade-offs that enable the development of these technologies. The discussion highlights the shift toward the mature crystalline silicon and the thin-film alternatives as well as the continuous investigation of emerging materials that would push the efficiency and cost boundaries of the current technologies. The review highlights the tradeoff between the environmental accountability and technological performance by addressing sustainability issues of material scarcity, toxicity, thermal sensitivity, and long-term stability. The paper ends with some pathways on future research that can be taken with a future research on the subject providing insights on both academia and industry alike on the development of solar PV as a sustainable large scale implementation.

Key words: Photovoltaics; Crystalline silicon; Thin films; Perovskites; Quantum dots; Sustainability; Materials; Processes; Limitations