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still expensive to process, their manufacture produces toxic by-products and they are cumbersome to install. Perovskites could be a game-changer. These materials have crystal structures that are based on pyramid-like tetrahedral arrangements of atoms or molecules. Long explored as potential semiconductors, superconductors and for their optical and magnetic properties, perovskites are also efficient at absorbing light and transporting charges — ideal properties for capturing solar power. Perovskite photovoltaic cells are cheap and easy to assemble. Typically they combine common inorganic and organic components, often methylammonium or formamidinium, both compounds of carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen. In solution, they can be printed on glass or film over several square centimetres. They are also less sensitive to impurities than are expensive crystalline semiconductors such as gallium arsenide. In the past decade, research into perovskite solar cells has boomed. At least in the lab, the efficiency of perovskite devices is now more than a match for those based on silicon (see ‘Rising performance’). In 2006, the first perovskite photovoltaic converted 2.2% of photons into electrons; by 2016, that figure was 22.1%. Silicon rooftop panels have an efficiency of 16–20%; perovskite cells could in theory could reach 31%. And even higher efficiencies might be achieved by combining silicon and perovskite devices. But there are major challenges to using perovskites on a commercial scale. The main one is stability: the cells currently only last for months outdoors, whereas silicon solar panels are usually guaranteed to work for at least 25 years. Weather changes and extreme light levels, temperature and humidity all cause perovskite cells to decompose. Moisture is the worst problem. Reactions with water form hydrates that alter the structures of the crystals so that they cannot absorb visible light. In the past decade, cell lifetimes have extended from a few minutes to 6 months. But much more work is needed. Here we highlight five ways to improve the stability of perovskite solar cells. We believe that within two years, they could exceed efficiencies of 25%, while remaining stable for more than a year.

Make perovskite solar cells stable