Overview: Photovoltaic Solar Cells, Science, Materials, Artificial Intelligence, Nanotechnology and State of the Art

Since the sun can provide all the renewable, sustainable energy we need and fossil fuels are not unexhaustible, multidisciplinary scientists worldwide are working to make additional sources commercially available, i.e., new generation photovoltaic solar cells (PVScs), with novel technological properties. We overview the field of PVScs indicating actual state of the art as well as future trends and perspectives. We summarize the fundamental science of PVScs, Shockley-Queisser limit, generations, technological devices including (heterojunctions, multijunctions, tandem, multiple exciton generation, quantum dots, panels, arrays and power systems). Materials for PVScs including (inorganic semiconductors (Si, GaAs, CdTe, CIGS…), organic (small molecules, fullerenes, nonfullerenes, fused ring acceptors, non-fused ring electron acceptors, all polymer, polymer-small molecule acceptors); hybrid organic–inorganic (HOI), perovskite (Pe), Ruddelson-Popper phase (RP) Pe, Dion-Jacobson (DJ) phase Pe, dye synthetisized (DS), quantum dot (QD), colloidal QD (CoQD), QDDS, QDPe, QDHOI, core/yolk (shell), two dimensional nanolayers (2d-NL), graphene (G), graphene oxide (GO), reduced graphene (rGO), graphite, nanographite, carbon nano/quantum dot, graphene quantum dot (GQD), black/blue phosphorous, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), g-C3N4 (graphitic carbon nitride), low dimensional boron nitride (BN), Janus-like nanocrystals, one-dimensional photonic crystal (1DPC), MXene, two dimensional van der Waals heterostructures (2d-vdWHs), borophene monolayer, nanowire, nanotubes, nanorods, nanofiber, tetrapods as well as semi-transparent, ultra-thin, ultra-light, flexible, 3d printable PVS cells/panels that work within technological-based devices. Notably, nanotechnology and artificial intelligence should play important roles in PVScs whereas quantum dots/nanomaterials based Scs including QDDS, QDPe and QDHOI are promising for upcoming generation commercial available cells which should desirable also be highly efficient, cost effective, non-toxic, non-degradable, have material availability, aesthetic design potential, large scale production and reciclability. The future holds practically unlimited applications in screens, greenhouses, roof tops, open areas, water surfaces, underwater communication, smart glasses, homes, factories, colorful/colorless windows, automobiles, aero/deep space travel, satellites, drones, robotics, telecommunications 5g, 6G, skylight applications, catalysis, energy storage, wearable electronics (e-skin), internet of things (IoT), building-integrated solar photovoltaic (BIPV), weather balloons, optical wireless communications (OWC), charging of laptops and mobile devices.