Enhanced Crystallization by Methanol Additive in Antisolvent for Achieving High-Quality MAPbI₃ Perovskite Films in...

Perovskite solar cells have attracted considerable attention owing to their easy and low-cost solution manufacturing process with high power conversion efficiency. However, the fabrication process is usually performed inside a glovebox to avoid moisture, as organometallic halide perovskites are easily dissolved in water. In this study, we propose a one-step fabrication of high-quality MAPbI₃ perovskite films in around 50 % relative humidity (RH) humid ambient air by using diethyl ether as an antisolvent and methanol as an additive into this antisolvent. Because of the presence of methanol, the water molecules can be efficiently removed from the gaps of the perovskite precursors and the perovskite film formation can be slightly controlled, leading to pinhole-free and low roughness films. Concurrently, methanol can be used to tune the DMSO ratio in the intermediate perovskite phase to regulate perovskite formation. Planar solar cells fabricated by using this method exhibited the best efficiency of 16.4 % with a reduced current density-voltage hysteresis. This efficiency value is approximately 160 % higher than the devices fabrication by using only diethyl ether treatment. From the impedance measurement, it is also found that the recombination reaction is suppressed when the device is prepared with methanol additive in the antisolvent. This method presents a new path for controlling the growth and morphology of perovskite films in humid climates and laboratories with uncontrolled environments.