Barrier Strategy for Strain-Free Encapsulation of Perovskite Solar Cells

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Energy Science
• Device Physics

Background:

• Encapsulation is crucial for perovskite solar cell (PSC) commercialization but often causes performance loss due to mechanical strain.
• Tensile strains on PSC functional layers during encapsulation directly impact power conversion efficiency and device stability.
• Understanding the mechanism of encapsulation-induced degradation is vital for developing robust PSCs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between encapsulation-induced strain and performance loss in PSCs.
• To develop a strain-free encapsulation strategy for PSCs.
• To enhance the operational stability and efficiency of encapsulated PSCs.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of PSCs with a nonadhesive barrier layer between the functional layers and the encapsulant.
• Characterization of strain distribution within encapsulated PSCs.
• Performance testing of encapsulated PSCs under standard and accelerated aging conditions (e.g., 85/85).

Main Results:

• The barrier layer effectively isolated PSC functional layers from encapsulant deformation, preventing strain.
• Encapsulated PSCs with the barrier layer showed a reduced performance loss from 21.4% to 5.7%.
• The barrier strategy significantly improved device stability under 85/85 conditions.

Conclusions:

• A nonadhesive barrier layer is an effective strategy to achieve strain-free encapsulation of PSCs.
• Mitigating encapsulation-induced strain is critical for maintaining high power conversion efficiency and long-term stability of PSCs.
• This approach offers a pathway for the practical application of high-performance perovskite solar cells.