Undercoordinated Pb2+ defects passivation via tetramethoxysilane-modified for efficient and stable perovskite solar cells

Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have developed rapidly in recent years, and the instability limits its commercialization. Non-radiative recombination caused by defects and water stability affect the device stability. Here we introduce an organic silane additive, tetramethoxysilane (TMOS), which can reduce the non-radiative recombination and prevent the water erosion. The methoxy group in TMOS can combine with Pb²⁺ of perovskite to passivate undercoordinated Pb²⁺ defects and reduce non-radiative recombination. Under a certain humidity, the hydrolyzed product SiO₂ can occupy the grain boundary sites to prevent the erosion of water molecules, slow down the degradation of perovskite, and improve the crystal phase stability of perovskite. The PCE of the device increases from 17.13% to 20.12%. After 400 h at 50% relative humidity (RH), the PSC with 2% TMOS can maintain the efficiency of 90%, while the efficiency of the control group quickly dropped to only 70% of the initial.     

Anti-solvent engineering via potassium bromide additive for highly efficient and stable perovskite solar cells

Anti-solvent assisted crystallization is commonly employed method to achieve high-quality perovskites attributed to its great operability. Herein, we report an anti-solvent engineering approach via simply using potassium bromide (KBr) additive with commonly used chlorobenzene (CB) in triple-cation perovskite solar cells (PSCs). We show that the KBr additive in the CB anti-solvent not only increases the crystallinity and passivates the perovskite top surface defects, but also leads to suppressed nonradiative recombination and facilitates charge extraction at interfaces. Interestingly, due to the halide vacancies filling with K⁺ ions, hysteresis behavior in the treated perovskite layer was suppressed. Consequently, a champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 18.29% was yielded for anti-solvent engineering employing KBr (an 20% improvement in PCE compared to the CB-only anti-solvent device). Furthermore, the optimized device based on KBr demonstrated improved stability, maintaining 80% of its original efficiency after aging in an environment with a relative humidity of 30–50% for 1080 h. Our study reports the significant role of anti-solvent engineering in improving perovskite's quality for efficient PSCs and develops the potential for PSC commercialization.     

Polymer additive assisted crystallization of perovskite films for high-performance solar cells

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have attracted much attention as a novel photoelectric converter. The quality of perovskite films plays a key role in the efficiency and stability. Among them, defects in the films surface restrict the performance of solar cells. Surface passivation is an effective route to eliminate defect of perovskite films. In this paper, we introduce PVB as a novel polymer additive, it can assist perovskite films with better crystallinity and morphology, as well as less defects. Perovskite solar cells with 1.5 mg/mL optimized concentration PVB exhibit power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 19.04% than 16.34% of control cells. Meanwhile, the cells with PVB demonstrate less hysteresis than that without additive, as well as excellent reproducibility. Additionally, perovskite solar cells based on PVB can retain around 90% of its original efficiency under fully ambient air of 65 ± 5% relative humidity or under 65 °C after aging for 30 days. The finding provides a potential additive candidate for fabrication of higher performance devices.     

Synergistic effect of MACl and DMF towards efficient perovskite solar cells

The performance of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) is extremely dependent on morphology and crystallinity of perovskite film. One of the most effective methods to achieve high performance perovskite solar cells has been to introduce additives that serve as dopants, crystallization or passivation agents. Herein a facile strategy by introducing methylammonium chloride (MACl) and polar solvent N,N-Dimethylformamide (DMF) as co-additives in two-step sequential method is proposed to realize high quality perovskite film. It is demonstrated that DMF facilitates methylammonium iodide (MAI) penetrating easily into PbI₂ layer to form highly crystalized perovskite film with uniform morphology which is essential to achieve high V_OC. While MACl induces MAPbI₃ to crystallize in a pure α-phase and suppress non-photovoltaic phase, which guarantees high FF. Pure α-phase perovskite film with uniform morphology can be achieved by adopting MACl and DMF together and the corresponding solar cell illustrates a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 19.02% with substantially promoted durability. Moreover, A V_OC as high as 1.181 V is succeeded for MAPbI₃ based solar cell benefiting from the synergistic effect.     

Interface engineering in efficient vacuum deposited perovskite solar cells

We studied the effect of the charge transport layers in p-i-n perovskite solar cells using vacuum deposited methylammonium lead iodide thin-film absorbers. While solution-processed perovskite films are frequently deposited directly on PEDOT:PSS leading to good solar cell performances, in some cases even to very good V_oc values, we show that in devices employing vacuum deposited MAPbI₃ perovskites, the removal of the polyTPD electron blocker substantially reduces the photovoltaic behavior. This is indicative of rather different charge transport properties in the vacuum deposited MAPbI₃ perovskites compared to those prepared from solution. On the other hand, we investigated the use of ionic interlayers as a possible alternative to low work function electrodes, whose reactivity towards air and moisture compromises the device stability. Two different electron extraction materials were evaluated as interlayers between the fullerene electron transport layer and a silver electrode, in particular a perylenediimide derivative and a conjugated polyelectrolyte. By studying the photovoltaic response and the electroluminescence properties of planar diodes using the ionic films and comparing them with devices employing barium, we found that such ionic interlayers can successfully replace the use of reactive electrodes, since they facilitate the electron extraction while reducing the non-radiative recombination at the electron transport interface.     

I/P interface modification for stable and efficient perovskite solar cells

Interface engineering has played an increasingly essential role in the development of perovskite solar cells(PSCs).Herein,we adopted an effective and simple one-step interface passivation method on a FA-based perovskite to fabricate efficient and stable planar PSCs.The surface defects are reduced by the perovskite interface passivation layer incorporated between the hole transport and perovskite absorber layers,and then non-radiative recombination is suppressed while interfacial carrier extraction is enhanced.The passivated planar PSCs demonstrates 20.83%power conversion efficiency(PCE),which is caused by the simultaneous enhancement of the fill factor and open-circuit voltage.In addition,the device also shows great ambient and thermal stability.It retains 94%of its original PCE after 1000 h under ambient air without encapsulation as well as90%of its initial efficiency after 400 h under continuous heating at 65°C with encapsulation.This research provides a strategy for the development of efficient and stable PSCs.     

A charge-separated interfacial hole transport semiconductor for efficient and stable perovskite solar cells

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with high efficiency and high stability are still a challenge to produce although remarkable successes have been achieved since they were first reported in 2009. One strategy to effectively improve both the performance as well as the stability is to introduce an interfacial layer between perovskite and hole transport material. Herein, we report a charge-separated (CS) organic semiconductor as the interfacial layer that forms cascaded energy levels between perovskite and hole transportation material. This CS semiconductor displays high hole and electron mobilities by converting long-lived CS states in solution into permanent polarons (charged carriers) in films. Doping with iodinehydride is able to improve the surface morphology of the CS semiconductor layer. Our devices with an iodinehydride-doped CS semiconductor layer exhibit an efficiency of 17.87%, which is increased by ~25% in comparison with 14.24% of the reference devices that have no interfacial layer. This additional CS semiconductor layer also enhances the unsealed device stability by maintaining 90% of initial PCE, while the reference devices degraded by 35% at a relative humidity of 20–30%, temperature of 25 °C and ambient light for 240 h. This result reveals that the utilization of CS states is an alternative approach to construct high charge transport organic semiconductors. An interfacial semiconductor with proper energy level and a matching hole transport mobility can improve the hole extraction, speed up hole transport and suppress charge recombination of PSCs, and thus may be an effective strategy to improve their efficiency and stability.     

High-quality CH3NH3PbI3 thin film fabricated via intramolecular exchange for efficient planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells

The high-quality CH₃NH₃PbI₃ perovskite thin film with excellent coverage and uniformity was prepared using an intramolecular exchange technology via a low-temperature, two-step sequential deposition process. The PbI₂(DMSO) complex was synthesized at room temperature without any additives and was deposited, then the CH₃NH₃I solution was deposited subsequently. The further controllable thermal annealing process resulted in the complete formation of flat and uniform CH₃NH₃PbI₃ thin film with large-size grains and (110) preferred crystallographic orientation. The perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with a very simple inverted planar heterojunction structure of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/CH₃NH₃PbI₃/PCBM/Al and without other buffer layers, e.g., C₆₀, LiF, BCP, etc., were fabricated, resulting in a power conversion efficiency (PCE) as high as 14.26%. The results suggest that the low-temperature, two-step sequential deposition process with intramolecular exchange technology provides a good route to fabricate high-quality perovskite thin film and efficient PSCs, which would match with large-scale, high-output roll-to-roll (R2R) printing/coating techniques.     

F4TCNQ-doped DEPT-SC as hole transporting material for stable perovskite solar cells

The CH₃NH₃PbI₃-based perovskite solar cells using α, α′-diethoxyethyl-oligothiophenes (DEPT-SC) doped with 2,3,5,6-Tetrafluoro-7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquino-dimethane (F4TCNQ) as hole transport material (HTM) exhibited a power conversion efficiency of 11.52%. Compared to the pristine devices, the perovskite solar cells using the new synthesized HTM showed an increased efficiency by about 18% and exhibited better photo-stability, indicating that the organic dopant is an effective method for DEPT-SC toward stable perovskite solar cells.     

Double-layered hole transport material of CuInS2/Spiro for highly efficient and stable perovskite solar cells

In this paper, double-layered hole transport material (HTM) was designed and fabricated by adding a thin CuInS₂ film between perovskite and Spiro-OMeTAD (Spiro) layers. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with double-layered HTM of CuInS₂/Spiro was improved to 19.63% from 17.97% for the devices with pure Spiro. Moreover, the operational stability of the PSCs with double-layered HTM of CuInS₂/Spiro was enhanced. The PCE of the PSCs with CuInS₂/Spiro retains 91% of the initial value after 30 days storage in ambient atmosphere. The experimental results indicate that the improved performance could be come from the energy band match between CuInS₂ and Spiro, fast hole extraction and transport, and decreased charge recombination in the PSCs with double-layered HTM of CuInS₂/Spiro. This work provides a promising prospect to design a low-cost and high stability HTM for commercial PSCs.     

Interface degradation of perovskite solar cells and its modification using an annealing-free TiO2 NPs layer

Interface is one of the most important factors to influence the device stability, which directly determines the commercialization of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). The research disclosed the degradation process and mechanism of planar heterojunction (PHJ) PSCs with a structure of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/CH₃NH₃PbI₃/PCBM/Al using in-situ experiments. The degradation of PHJ-PSCs is mainly attributed to the interface decay of perovskite/cathode. Large amount of bubbles formed quickly at the interface and grew up as PHJ-PSCs exposed to air. The cathode electrode easily peeled off from the devices that led to lose the efficiency completely after only 1 h exposure to air. On the other hand, the degradation driven by intrinsic decomposition of perovskite itself under atmosphere (humidity ∼ 45 RH%) was not obvious and the power conversion efficiency (PCE) could retain almost the same when only the perovskite layer was exposed to air for 200 h. Furthermore, annealing-free TiO₂ nanocrystalline particles (TiO₂ NPs) as an interface modification layer was inserted into PHJ-PSCs and dramatically improved the stability, of which the PCEs retained over 75% of its initial values after exposure to air for 200 h. The results provide important information to understand the degradation of PSCs and the improvement of the stability, which may potentially accelerate the development and commercialization of PSCs.     

Copolymers based on thiazolothiazole-dithienosilole as hole-transporting materials for high efficient perovskite solar cells

The interlayers, including hole transporting layer (HTL) and electron transporting layer (ETL), segregating photoactive layer and the electrodes play an important role in charge extraction and transportation in perovskite solar cells (pero-SCs). Two novel copolymers, PDTSTTz and PDTSTTz-4, for the first time were applied as HTL in the n-i-p type pero-SCs, with the device structure of ITO/compact TiO₂/CH₃NH₃PbI_3-xCl_x/HTL/MoO₃/Ag. The highest occupied molecular orbitals (HOMO) levels of PDTSTTz and PDTSTTz-4 exhibit a suitable band alignment with the valence band edge of the perovskite. Both of them lead to improved device performances compared with reference pero-SCs based on P3HT as HTL. To further balance the charge extraction and the diffusion length of charge carriers, pristine C₆₀ was introduced at the cathode side of the pero-SCs, working together with TiO₂ as ETL. With insertion of both the HTL and ETL, the performance of pero-SCs was greatly enhanced. The optimized devices exhibited impressive PCEs of 14.4% and 15.8% for devices based on PDTSTTz and PDTSTTz-4. The improved performance is attributed to better light harvest ability, decreased interface resistance and faster decay time due to the introduction of the interlayers.     

Fused-ring electron acceptor as an efficient interfacial material for planar and flexible perovskite solar cells

Perovskite solar cell (PSC) has attracted great attention due to its high power conversion efficiency (PCE), low cost and solution processability. The well-designed interface and the modification of electron transport layer (ETL) are critical to the PCE and long-term stability of PSCs. In this article, a fused-ring electron acceptor is employed as the interfacial material between TiO₂ and the perovskite in rigid and flexible PSCs. The modification improves the surface of TiO₂, which decreases the defects of ETL surface. Moreover, the modified surface has lower hydrophilicity, and thus is beneficial to the growth of perovskite with large grain size and high quality. As a result, the interfacial charge transfer is promoted and the interfacial charge recombination can be suppressed. The highest PCE of 19.61% is achieved for the rigid PSCs after the introduction of ITIC, and the hysteresis effect is significantly reduced. Flexible PSC with ITIC obtains a PCE of 14.87%, and the device stability is greatly improved. This study provides an efficient candidate as the interfacial modifier for PSCs, which is compatible with low-temperature solution process and has a great practical potential for the commercialization of PSCs.     

Benzodithiophene-based small molecules with various termini as hole transporting materials in efficient planar perovskite solar cells

In this study we prepared four benzodithiophene (BDT)-based small organic molecules presenting bithiophene (TT), thiophene (FT), carbazole (CB), and triphenylamine (TPA) units, respectively, as termini, and used them as hole transporting materials for perovskite solar cells (PSCs). The high degrees of planarity of these BDT-based small molecules imparted them with high degrees of stacking and charge transport. These small molecules had suitable optical properties and energy level alignments for use in PSCs based on MAPbI₃, with compact-TiO₂ as the electron transporting layer and a BDT-based material as the hole transporting layer, in a n–i–p structure. Among our tested BDT-based materials, the PSC incorporating BDT-TT had the best performance, with an average power conversion efficiency of 13.63%.     

In-situ synthesis of metal nanoparticle-polymer composites and their application as efficient interfacial materials for both polymer and planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells

A new approach for the synthesis of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) via a simple and fast in-situ generation method using an amine-containing polymer (PN4N) as both stabilizer and reducing agent is reported. The application of the Au NPs-PN4N hybrid material as efficient interfacial layer in different types of solar cells was also explored. The synthesized Au NPs show good uniformity in size and shape and the Au NPs doped PN4N hybrid composites exhibit high stability. Amine-containing polymers are good cathode interfacial materials (CIMs) in polymer solar cells (PSCs) and planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells (PVKSCs). The performance of the PSCs with Au NPs doped PN4N CIMs is largely improved when compares to devices with pristine PN4N CIM due to the enhanced electronic properties of the doped PN4N. Furthermore, by incorporating larger Au NPs into PEDOT:PSS to enhance absorption of the light harvesting layer, power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 6.82% and 13.7% are achieved for PSC with PCDTBT/PC₇₁BM as the light harvesting materials and PVKSC with a ∼280 nm-thick CH₃NH₃PbI_3−xCl_x perovskite layer, respectively. These results indicate that Au NPs doped into both PEDOT:PSS and PN4N interlayers exhibited a synergistic effect in performance improvement of PSCs and PVKSCs.     

Improved morphology and enhanced stability via solvent engineering for planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells

Solvent engineering technique for planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells is an efficient way to achieve uniformly controlled grain morphology for perovskite films. In this report, diethyl ether solvent engineering technique was used for Methyl ammonium lead triiodide (CH₃NH₃PbI₃) perovskite thin films for planar heterojunction solar cells which exhibited a PCE of 9.20%. Morphological improvements and enhanced grain sizes leads to enhanced absorption of CH₃NH₃PbI₃. Moreover solar cells have showed an excellent environmental stability of more than 100 days. This increase in efficiency is due to improved film morphology of perovskite layer after solvent treatment which has been revealed under UV–Vis spectroscopy, SEM images, X-ray diffraction and impedance spectroscopy.     

Self-encapsulated semi-transparent perovskite solar cells with water-soaked stability and metal-free electrode

Semi-transparent and self-encapsulated perovskite solar cells could be fabricated by simply laminating the front sub-cell (ITO/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS)/CH₃NH₃PbI₃) and back sub-cell (FTO/compact-TiO₂/mesoporous-TiO₂/CH₃NH₃PbI₃), without vacuum-evaporating metal electrode. The addition of chlorobenzene (CB) between two perovskite layers accelerated perovskite crystals interfusion and close interfacial contact from two separated sub-cells, which contributed to perovskite film with high crystallinity and light absorption in laminated cells. The self-encapsulated perovskite solar cell (device area of 0.39 cm²) with CB treatment not only showed power conversion efficiency of 6.9%, but also existed excellent stability even if soaking in water for 24 h. This novel approach to fabricate semi-transparent, solution-processible, cost-effective and high-stable perovskite solar cells may provide a reliable royal road for realizing commercial application in exterior building window, with the combination of large-area roll-to-roll printing technique, etc.     

Efficient lead acetate sourced planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells with enhanced substrate coverage via one-step spin-coating

In planar heterojunction (PHJ) perovskite solar cells (PerSCs) without mesoporous metal oxide skeleton, there is challenge of formation perovskite film with full coverage to the conductive substrate through solution-process the lead halide precursors. Selecting a lead source with more volatile byproducts is an effective approach to obtain much smoother films with smaller and fewer pinholes. Herein, we demonstrate efficient CH₃NH₃PbI₃/PCBM PHJ PerSCs by using lead acetate (Pb(Ac)₂) as lead precursor. The morphology of the perovskite thin films were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), respectively, and the crystalline quality of the perovskite films were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy. Time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) was used to investigate the PL lifetime of the perovskite film. The perovskite film derived from Pb(Ac)₂ shows enhanced surface coverage and improved photoluminescence lifetime in comparison with PbI₂ sourced perovskite film. Averaged over 20 individual devices, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of devices derived from Pb(Ac)₂ reaches 14.81%, much higher than PbI₂ sourced devices by one-step (8.23%) or two-step (10.58%) spin-coating.     

Efficient perovskite solar cells using trichlorosilanes as perovskite/PCBM interface modifiers

Interfaces are crucial for high-performance perovskite solar cells. Here, phenyltrichlorosilane (PTS) and octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) were used to modify the interface between perovskite layer and [6,6]-phenyl-C₆₁-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) layer in an inverted layered perovskite device. Such treatments facilitated the formation of a high-quality PCBM film and effectively decreased the density of surface traps that induce undesirable electron-hole recombination. As a result, the average power conversion efficiency of PTS (and OTS) modified devices was improved from 9.60% to 11.96% (and 11.08%), with a highest value of 12.63% (and 11.87%). Therefore, this study provides an attractive mothed to improve the quality of PCBM film on top of perovskite layer and finally the performance of inverted perovskite solar cells.     

Moderately reduced graphene oxide/PEDOT:PSS as hole transport layer to fabricate efficient perovskite hybrid solar cells

Graphene oxide (GO) with single layer was moderately reduced at 200 °C for 4 h under N₂. Then the moderately reduced graphene oxide (rGO) water solution was employed as an additive to tune the properties of conventional poly(ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) solution. It's found that the incorporation of rGO into PEDOT:PSS nearly did not change its transparency, hydrophilic property, or the surface roughness. So, the rGO/PEDOT:PSS composite was used as a hole transport layer (HTL) to fabricate perovskite solar cells (PSCs). As a result, PSCs with rGO/PEDOT:PSS as HTL exhibit improved power conversion efficiency than that of PSCs with PEDOT:PSS as HTL. Our findings show that moderately reduced rGO/PEDOT:PSS could be an efficient HTL to improve power conversion efficiency of PSCs.