Single Layer of Crown Ether Enables Efficient, Stable, and Pb Leakage-Free Inverted Perovskite Solar Cells

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Renewable Energy
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Perovskite solar cells (PeSCs) face commercialization hurdles due to stability, environmental safety, and efficiency challenges.
• Buffer layers are crucial for improving PeSC performance and longevity by interfacing with the active layer and electrodes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the efficacy of a crown ether derivative as a single buffer layer in inverted PeSCs.
• To enhance PeSC efficiency, long-term stability, and environmental safety.

Main Methods:

• Incorporation of di-tert-butyl dibenzo-18-crown-6 as a buffer layer in inverted PeSCs.
• Evaluation of Ag diffusion suppression and Pb ion capture capabilities.
• Assessment of device performance, stability under nitrogen atmosphere, and power conversion efficiency (PCE).

Main Results:

• The crown ether buffer layer effectively suppressed silver (Ag) diffusion from Ag electrodes.
• Crown ether demonstrated Pb ion capture, improving environmental safety.
• PeSCs with crown ether buffer layers showed enhanced stability and achieved a PCE of 22.8%.

Conclusions:

• Crown ether serves as an effective buffer layer for inverted PeSCs.
• This strategy leads to improved efficiency, stability, and environmental safety in PeSCs.
• Crown ether offers a viable solution for developing commercializable, stable, and eco-friendly PeSCs.