Issue

Vol. 15 (2023)

Gelation of Hole Transport Layer to Improve the Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-023-01145-y
Ying Zhang
Beijing Key Laboratory of Construction Tailorable Advanced Functional Materials and Green Applications, MIIT Key Laboratory for Low‑Dimensional Quantum Structure and Devices, Experimental Center of Advanced Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, People’s Republic of China
Chenxiao Zhou
Beijing Key Laboratory of Construction Tailorable Advanced Functional Materials and Green Applications, MIIT Key Laboratory for Low‑Dimensional Quantum Structure and Devices, Experimental Center of Advanced Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, People’s Republic of China
Lizhi Lin
Beijing Key Laboratory of Construction Tailorable Advanced Functional Materials and Green Applications, MIIT Key Laboratory for Low‑Dimensional Quantum Structure and Devices, Experimental Center of Advanced Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, People’s Republic of China
Fengtao Pei
Beijing Key Laboratory of Construction Tailorable Advanced Functional Materials and Green Applications, MIIT Key Laboratory for Low‑Dimensional Quantum Structure and Devices, Experimental Center of Advanced Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, People’s Republic of China
Mengqi Xiao
Beijing Key Laboratory of Construction Tailorable Advanced Functional Materials and Green Applications, MIIT Key Laboratory for Low‑Dimensional Quantum Structure and Devices, Experimental Center of Advanced Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, People’s Republic of China
Xiaoyan Yang
Beijing Key Laboratory of Construction Tailorable Advanced Functional Materials and Green Applications, MIIT Key Laboratory for Low‑Dimensional Quantum Structure and Devices, Experimental Center of Advanced Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, People’s Republic of China
Guizhou Yuan
Beijing Key Laboratory of Construction Tailorable Advanced Functional Materials and Green Applications, MIIT Key Laboratory for Low‑Dimensional Quantum Structure and Devices, Experimental Center of Advanced Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, People’s Republic of China
Cheng Zhu
Beijing Key Laboratory of Construction Tailorable Advanced Functional Materials and Green Applications, MIIT Key Laboratory for Low‑Dimensional Quantum Structure and Devices, Experimental Center of Advanced Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, People’s Republic of China
Yu Chen
Beijing Key Laboratory of Construction Tailorable Advanced Functional Materials and Green Applications, MIIT Key Laboratory for Low‑Dimensional Quantum Structure and Devices, Experimental Center of Advanced Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, People’s Republic of China
Qi Chen
Beijing Key Laboratory of Construction Tailorable Advanced Functional Materials and Green Applications, MIIT Key Laboratory for Low‑Dimensional Quantum Structure and Devices, Experimental Center of Advanced Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, People’s Republic of China

Corresponding Author: Qi Chen

qic@bit.edu.cn

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 15 (2023), Article Number: 175

Abstract

To achieve high power conversion efficiency (PCE) and long-term stability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs), a hole transport layer (HTL) with persistently high conductivity, good moisture/oxygen barrier ability, and adequate passivation capability is important. To achieve enough conductivity and effective hole extraction, spiro-OMeTAD, one of the most frequently used HTL in optoelectronic devices, often needs chemical doping with a lithium compound (LiTFSI). However, the lithium salt dopant induces crystallization and has a negative impact on the performance and lifetime of the device due to its hygroscopic nature. Here, we provide an easy method for creating a gel by mixing a natural small molecule additive (thioctic acid, TA) with spiro-OMeTAD. We discover that gelation effectively improves the compactness of resultant HTL and prevents moisture and oxygen infiltration. Moreover, the gelation of HTL improves not only the conductivity of spiro-OMeTAD, but also the operational robustness of the devices in the atmospheric environment. In addition, TA passivates the perovskite defects and facilitates the charge transfer from the perovskite layer to HTL. As a consequence, the optimized PSCs based on the gelated HTL exhibit an improved PCE (22.52%) with excellent device stability.


Highlights:


1 The gelation of hole transport layer generates a dense and uniform hole transport layer film and significantly inhibits the aggregation of lithium bis(trifluoromethane sulfonyl)imide in spiro-OMeTAD.
2 The gelated hole transport layer confers enhanced charge carrier transport and better humidity and operational stability of perovskite solar cells.

Keywords

Perovskite solar cell Hole transport layer Gelation Humidity stability Aggregation of LiTFSI
Zhang, Ying, Chenxiao Zhou, Lizhi Lin, Fengtao Pei, Mengqi Xiao, Xiaoyan Yang, Guizhou Yuan, Cheng Zhu, Yu Chen, and Qi Chen. 2023. “Gelation of Hole Transport Layer to Improve the Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells”. Nano-Micro Letters 15 (July):175. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-023-01145-y.
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