In-situ cross-linking strategy for efficient and operationally stable methylammoniun lead iodide solar cells

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 9; no. 1; pp. 3806 - 10
• Main Authors: Li, Xiaodong, Zhang, Wenxiao, Wang, Ying-Chiao, Zhang, Wenjun, Wang, Hai-Qiao, Fang, Junfeng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 18.09.2018; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 639/301/299/946; 639/4077/909/4101/4096/946; Additives; Aging; Burn-in; Commercialization; Crosslinking; Efficiency; Fourier transforms; Grain boundaries; Heat treatment; Humanities and Social Sciences; Iodides; Lead; Light; multidisciplinary; Organic chemistry; Perovskites; Phase transitions; Photovoltaic cells; Polymerization; Polymers; Power efficiency; Scanning electron microscopy; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Solar cells; Stability; Trimethylolpropane triacrylate; Vibration; Working conditions; Xenon; Xenon lamps
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-06204-2

Long-term operational stability is the foremost issue delaying the commercialization of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Here we demonstrate an in-situ cross-linking strategy for operationally stable inverted MAPbI 3 PSCs through the incorporation of a cross-linkable organic small molecule additive trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMTA) into perovskite films. TMTA can chemically anchor to grain boundaries and then in-situ cross-link to a robust continuous network polymer after thermal treatment, thus enhancing the thermal, water-resisting and light-resisting properties of organic/perovskite films. As a result, the cross-linked PSCs exhibit 590-fold improvement in operational stability, retaining nearly 80% of their initial efficiency after continuous power output for 400 h at maximum power point under full-sun AM 1.5 G illumination of Xenon lamp without any UV-filter. In addition, under moisture or thermal (85 °C) conditions, cross-linked TMTA-based PSCs also show excellent stability with over 90% of their initial or post burn-in efficiency after aging for over 1000 h. The stability of perovskite solar cell remains the biggest challenge that hinders its commercialization. Here Li et al. incorporate crosslinkable molecules to form a crosslinked perovskite film and increase the device operational stability by 590 times to 400 h under standard Xenon lamp without filters.