Polymer–inorganic semiconductor hybrid solar cells have attracted extensive research and attention as a promising approach to achieve cost effective solar energy. Power conversion efficiencies exceeding 3% have been achieved for polymer–inorganic hybrid solar cells. However, these efficiencies are still lower than those of polymer-fullerene solar cells, which have recently reached up to 8.13%. In this article, we review the recent developments including device operation mechanism, cell structures, polymer and inorganic materials, and various approaches to improve cell performance. In addition, the dependence of power conversion efficiency on the polymer bandgap and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) using several typical inorganic acceptors including TiO₂, ZnO and CdSe are presented and may provide guidance for the engineering of donor polymers.

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have gained tremendous research interest in recent several years. To date the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of PSCs has been increased from 3.8% to over 22.1%, showing that they have a promising future as a renewable energy resource to compete with conventional silicon solar cells. However, a crucial challenge of PSCs currently is that perovskite materials and PSCs have limitations of easy degradation and inferior long-term stabilities, thus hampering their future commercial applications. In this review, the degradation mechanisms for instable perovskite materials and their corresponding solar cells are discussed. The stability study of perovskite materials and PSCs from the aspect of experimental tests and theoretical calculations is reviewed. The strategies for enhancing the stability of perovskite materials and PSCs are summarized from the viewpoints of perovskite material engineering, substituted organic and inorganic materials for hole transportation, alternative electrodes comprising mainly carbon and its relevant composites, interfacial modification, novel device structure construction and encapsulation, etc. Various approaches and outlooks on the future direction of perovskite materials and PSCs are highlighted. This review is expected to provide helpful insights for further enhancing the stability of perovskite materials and PSCs in this exciting field.

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are solar energy conversion devices with high efficiency and simple fabrication procedures. Developing transparent counter electrode (CE) materials for bifacial DSSCs can address the needs of window-type building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs). Herein, transparent organic–inorganic hybrid composite films of molybdenum disulfide and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (MoS₂/PEDOT) are prepared to take full advantage of the conductivity and electrocatalytic ability of the two components. MoS₂ is synthesized by hydrothermal method and spin-coated to form the MoS₂ layer, and then PEDOT films are electrochemically polymerized on top of the MoS₂ film to form the composite CEs. The DSSC with the optimized MoS₂/PEDOT composite CE shows power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 7% under front illumination and 4.82% under back illumination. Compared with the DSSC made by the PEDOT CE and the Pt CE, the DSSC fabricated by the MoS₂/PEDOT composite CE improves the PCE by 10.6% and 6.4% for front illumination, respectively. It proves that the transparent MoS₂/PEDOT CE owes superior conductivity and catalytic properties, and it is an excellent candidate for bifacial DSSC in the application of BIPVs.