Characterization Tools to Probe Degradation Mechanisms in Organic and Perovskite Solar Cells

Organic solar cells (OSCs) and perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are promising due to their low cost and potential for renewable solar energy conversion. They are compatible with many substrates and varied deposition techniques, including solution processing. They can be coupled with other solar cell types in tandem and multijunction structures. Despite these great attributes and advancements in power conversion efficiencies over the years, they suffer from severe degradation, leading to low lifetime. In terms of research, their stability studies lag. One reason is the complexity of degradation studies and, sometimes, the lack of adequate tools to do an in-depth probe. Another reason is the lack of comprehensive literature on metrologies' appropriateness for this kind of study. Although there are reviews on stability and improvement in the efficiency of devices, they focus either on the degradation mechanisms or efforts to use specific tools. There is little on comprehensive characterization tools for their degradation studies. Herein, the experimental tools and techniques researchers use in general to probe degradation in OSCs and PSCs are studied. This review is intended as a starting point and a go-to material for current and future researchers and (under-)graduate students interested in stability studies.