Rational design of Lewis base molecules for stable and efficient inverted perovskite solar cells.

Lewis base molecules that bind undercoordinated lead atoms at interfaces and grain boundaries (GBs) are known to enhance the durability of metal halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Using density functional theory calculations, we found that phosphine-containing molecules have the strongest binding energy among members of a library of Lewis base molecules studied herein. Experimentally, we found that the best inverted PSC treated with 1,3-bis(diphenylphosphino)propane (DPPP), a diphosphine Lewis base that passivates, binds, and bridges interfaces and GBs, retained a power conversion efficiency (PCE) slightly higher than its initial PCE of ~23% after continuous operation under simulated AM1.

Efficient and Stable CsPbI Solar Cells via Regulating Lattice Distortion with Surface Organic Terminal Groups.

All-inorganic cesium lead iodide perovskites (CsPbI ) are promising wide-bandgap materials for use in the perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells, but they easily undergo a phase transition from a cubic black phase to an orthorhombic yellow phase under ambient conditions. It is shown that this phase transition is triggered by moisture that causes distortion of the corner-sharing octahedral framework ([PbI ] ). Here, a novel strategy to suppress the octahedral tilting of [PbI ] units in cubic CsPbI by systematically controlling the steric hindrance of surface organic terminal groups is provided.

Low-Temperature Soft-Cover-Assisted Hydrolysis Deposition of Large-Scale TiO Layer for Efficient Perovskite Solar Modules.

Perovskite solar cells with TiO electron transport layers exhibit power conversion efficiency (PCE) as high as 22.7% in single cells. However, the preparation process of the TiO layer is adopted by an unscalable method or requires high-temperature sintering, which precludes its potential use for mass production of flexible devices.

A solvent- and vacuum-free route to large-area perovskite films for efficient solar modules.

Recent advances in the use of organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites for optoelectronics have been rapid, with reported power conversion efficiencies of up to 22 per cent for perovskite solar cells. Improvements in stability have also enabled testing over a timescale of thousands of hours. However, large-scale deployment of such cells will also require the ability to produce large-area, uniformly high-quality perovskite films.

Diffusion engineering of ions and charge carriers for stable efficient perovskite solar cells.

Long-term stability is crucial for the future application of perovskite solar cells, a promising low-cost photovoltaic technology that has rapidly advanced in the recent years. Here, we designed a nanostructured carbon layer to suppress the diffusion of ions/molecules within perovskite solar cells, an important degradation process in the device. Furthermore, this nanocarbon layer benefited the diffusion of electron charge carriers to enable a high-energy conversion efficiency.

A circulating electrolyte for a high performance carbon-based dye-sensitized solar cell.

An innovative Pt-free counter electrode was developed through which an electrolyte solution could be circulated in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) to facilitate mass transfer, resulting in greatly suppressed charge recombination and a considerably enhanced electron lifetime, and accordingly much higher power conversion efficiency than a DSC with a stationary electrolyte.

Efficient and stable large-area perovskite solar cells with inorganic charge extraction layers.

The recent dramatic rise in power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) has triggered intense research worldwide. However, high PCE values have often been reached with poor stability at an illuminated area of typically less than 0.1 square centimeter.

Consecutive Morphology Controlling Operations for Highly Reproducible Mesostructured Perovskite Solar Cells.

Perovskite solar cells have shown high photovoltaic performance but suffer from low reproducibility, which is mainly caused by low uniformity of the active perovskite layer in the devices. The nonuniform perovskites further limit the fabrication of large size solar cells. In this work, we control the morphology of CH3NH3PbI3 on a mesoporous TiO2 substrate by employing consecutive antisolvent dripping and solvent-vapor fumigation during spin coating of the precursor solution.

Fullerene-Structured MoSe2 Hollow Spheres Anchored on Highly Nitrogen-Doped Graphene as a Conductive Catalyst for Photovoltaic Applications.

A conductive catalyst composed of fullerene-structured MoSe2 hollow spheres and highly nitrogen-doped graphene (HNG-MoSe2) was successfully synthesized via a wet chemical process. The small molecule diethylenetriamine, which was used during the process, served as a surfactant to stabilize the fullerene-structured MoSe2 hollow spheres and to provide a high content of nitrogen heteroatoms for graphene doping (ca. 12% N).