Fullerene Polymer Complex Inducing Dipole Electric Field for Stable Perovskite Solar Cells

Abstract

Lead halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have demonstrated great potential for realizing low‐cost and easily fabricated photovoltaics. At this juncture, power conversion efficiency and long‐term stability are two important factors limiting their transition. PSCs exhibit rapid environmental degradation since the perovskite layer is very sensitive to factors such as humidity, temperature, and ultraviolet light. Here, a novel successful approach is demonstrated that simultaneously improves the efficiency and stability of PSCs. This approach relies on incorporation of a dual‐functional polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)–fullerene complex into the perovskite layer. The fullerene within perovskite layer forms a localized dipole‐like electric field that favors electron–hole separation, resulting in significant improvement in current density and fill factor with conversion efficiency reaching 18.4%. The molecular‐scale coating of hydrophobic PMMA on the perovskite grain boundary effectively blocks moisture penetration into the perovskite, thereby, significantly improving the stability against moisture, heat, and light. The PSCs with PMMA–fullerene complex showed no photovoltaic performance degradation for 250 d and exhibited 60 times higher stability compared to the state‐of‐the‐art devices under continuous 1 sun illumination in ambient air.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Jan 07, 2019
Source ID
10.1002/adfm.201804419

Entities

People

  • Alan R. Esker
  • Amanda J Morris
  • Bo Chi
  • Congcong Wu
  • Dong Yang
  • Jennifer Rowe
  • Jianzhao Liu
  • Kai Wang
  • Mohan Sanghadasa
  • Shashank Priya
  • Yongke Yan
  • Yuanyuan Jiang

Organizations

  • Air Force Office of Scientific Research
  • Huazhong University of Science and Technology
  • Office of Naval Research
  • United States Army
  • Virginia Tech

Tags

Readers

  • Solar Photovoltaics and Thermoelectric Devices.
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics