The Recent Use of Nanoporous Materials in the Development of Third-Generation Solar Cells: A Review

Global energy demand increases daily because of the rapid growth of the world's population, which, consequently, increases the emission of greenhouse gases into the environment due to the burning of fossil fuels. Nanomaterials can contribute to the development of sustainable and efficient energy systems due to their unique electronic and optical properties. Furthermore, the presence of nanopores increases the surface-to-volume ratio, which results in unexpected and improved properties not found in conventional porous and nonporous solids. Thus, nanoporous materials show great potential to be used in third-generation solar devices due to the remarkable properties they offer compared to their bulk counterparts. Nanoporous materials tend to reduce surface reflection, increase band gap, and improve absorption spectrum, subsequently improving power conversion efficiency (PCE). Therefore, in this article, we summarize the most recently used materials and the different strategies that have been proposed to improve the properties of diverse nanoporous materials to maximize their potential in the development of novel solar cells (SCs).