Metal-organic frameworks in perovskite solar cells: A critical review of materials design, interface engineering, and performance

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have recently emerged as versatile multifunctional components for addressing the key limitations of metal-halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs), particularly instability, interfacial recombination, and ion migration. This review critically examines recent progress in MOF-perovskite hybrid systems, focusing on materials design strategies, interface engineering, and mechanisms for performance enhancement. We summarize major integration approaches, including in situ growth, host-guest encapsulation, additive engineering, interfacial interlayers, and MOF-derived conductive architectures, and analyze how framework chemistry, topology, and dimensionality influence crystallization behavior, defect passivation, charge transport, and environmental durability. Emphasis is placed on the structure, property relationships governing carrier dynamics, band alignment, and operational stability, supported by insights from advanced spectroscopic characterization and multiscale computational modeling. The review further evaluates photovoltaic performance metrics and stability assessment protocols, highlighting the need for standardized evaluation methods for MOF-integrated devices. Remaining challenges, including limited electrical conductivity, processing scalability, and optimization trade-offs between porosity and transport properties, are discussed alongside emerging data-driven and predictive design approaches. By consolidating recent advances and identifying future research directions, this work provides a unified perspective for rationally engineering MOF-perovskite hybrids toward stable, high-efficiency, and commercially viable next-generation photovoltaic and optoelectronic technologies.