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Harvesting Solar Energy by Means of Charge-Separating Nanocrystals and Their Solids
Published on: August 23, 2012
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Nanoscale interfacial engineering enables highly stable and efficient perovskite photovoltaics
Anurag Krishna1, Hong Zhang2, Zhiwen Zhou2
1Laboratory of Photomolecular Science, Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Lausanne 1015 Switzerland anurag.krishna@epfl.ch.
Energy & Environmental Science
|November 8, 2021
Summary
A new molecular strategy enhances perovskite solar cell (PSC) stability and efficiency. Using 2,5-thiophenedicarboxylic acid, researchers achieved over 5950 hours of stable operation at 40°C and 23% power conversion efficiency.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Renewable Energy
- Photovoltaics
Background:
- Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) offer high power conversion efficiencies but suffer from long-term operational and thermal instability.
- Degradation mechanisms in PSCs include ion migration and photoinduced degradation, limiting their commercial viability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a facile molecular-level interface engineering strategy to enhance the long-term operational and thermal stability of PSCs.
- To investigate the impact of a multifunctional ligand on the perovskite/hole transporting layer (HTL) interface.
Main Methods:
- Interface engineering of PSCs using 2,5-thiophenedicarboxylic acid as a multifunctional ligand.
- Comprehensive multiscale characterization to analyze nano/sub-nanoscale molecular interactions.
- Chemical analysis of aged devices to identify degradation suppression mechanisms.
Main Results:
- Achieved stabilized power conversion efficiency (PCE) over 23% with a stabilized TS80 of ≈5950 hours at 40°C.
- Demonstrated molecular passivation suppresses interfacial ion diffusion and inhibits photoinduced I2 release.
- Correlated high device stability and performance to molecular-level interactions at the perovskite/HTL interface.
Conclusions:
- Facile molecular-level interface engineering with multifunctional ligands significantly improves PSC operational and thermal stability.
- Understanding nano/sub-nanoscale interactions provides insights into modulating grain boundaries, local density of states, surface bandgap, and interfacial recombination.
- This strategy can expedite the development of stable and efficient perovskite solar cells for commercial applications.
