Control of Molecular Orientation of Spiro-OMeTAD on Substrates

p-Type Functionalized Carbon Nanohorns and Nanotubes in Perovskite Solar Cells

The incorporation of p-type functionalized carbon nanohorns (CNHs) in perovskite solar cells (PSCs) and their comparison with p-type functionalized single- and double-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs and DWCNTs) are reported in this study for the first time. These p-type functionalized carbon nanomaterial (CNM) derivatives were successfully synthesized by [2 + 1] cycloaddition reaction with nitrenes formed from triphenylamine (TPA) and 9-phenyl carbazole (Cz)-based azides, yielding CNHs-TPA, CNHs-Cz, SWCNTs-Cz, SWCNTs-TPA, DWCNTs-TPA, and DWCNTs-Cz. These six novel CNMs were incorporated into the spiro-OMeTAD-based hole transport layer (HTL) to evaluate their impact on regular mesoporous PSCs. The photovoltaic results indicate that all p-type functionalized CNMs significantly improve the power conversion efficiency (PCE), mainly by enhancing the short-circuit current density (Jsc) and fill factor (FF). TPA-functionalized derivatives increased the PCE by 12-17% compared to the control device without CNMs, while Cz-functionalized derivatives resulted in a PCE increase of 4-8%. Devices prepared with p-type functionalized CNHs exhibited a slightly better PCE compared with those based on SWCNTs and DWCNTs derivatives. The increase in hole mobility of spiro-OMeTAD, additional p-type doping, better energy alignment with the perovskite layer, and enhanced morphology and contact interface play important roles in enhancing the performance of the device. Furthermore, the incorporation of p-type functionalized CNMs into the spiro-OMeTAD layer increased device stability by improving the hydrophobicity of the layer and enhancing the hole transport across the MAPI/spiro-OMeTAD interface. After 28 days under ambient conditions and darkness, TPA-functionalized CNMs maintained the performance of the device by over 90%, while Cz-functionalized CNMs preserved it between 75 and 85%.

Controlling Molecular Orientation of Small Molecular Dopant-Free Hole-Transport Materials: Toward Efficient and Stable Perovskite Solar Cells

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have great potential for future application. However, the commercialization of PSCs is limited by the prohibitively expensive and doped hole-transport materials (HTMs). In this regard, small molecular dopant-free HTMs are promising alternatives because of their low cost and high efficiency. However, these HTMs still have a lot of space for making further progress in both efficiency and stability. This review firstly provides outlining analyses about the important roles of molecular orientation when further enhancements in device efficiency and stability are concerned. Then, currently studied strategies to control molecular orientation in small molecular HTMs are presented. Finally, we propose an outlook aiming to obtain optimized molecular orientation in a cost-effective way.

Ion-modulated radical doping of spiro-OMeTAD for more efficient and stable perovskite solar cells

Record power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have been obtained with the organic hole transporter 2,2',7,7'-tetrakis(N,N-di-p-methoxyphenyl-amine)9,9'-spirobifluorene (spiro-OMeTAD). Conventional doping of spiro-OMeTAD with hygroscopic lithium salts and volatile 4-tert-butylpyridine is a time-consuming process and also leads to poor device stability. We developed a new doping strategy for spiro-OMeTAD that avoids post-oxidation by using stable organic radicals as the dopant and ionic salts as the doping modulator (referred to as ion-modulated radical doping). We achieved PCEs of >25% and much-improved device stability under harsh conditions. The radicals provide hole polarons that instantly increase the conductivity and work function (WF), and ionic salts further modulate the WF by affecting the energetics of the hole polarons. This organic semiconductor doping strategy, which decouples conductivity and WF tunability, could inspire further optimization in other optoelectronic devices.

Perovskite Solar Cells Employing a PbSO4(PbO)4 Quantum Dot-Doped Spiro-OMeTAD Hole Transport Layer with an Efficiency over 22

2,2',7,7'-Tetrakis(N,N-di-p-methoxyphenyl-amine)-9,9'-spirobifluorene (spiro-OMeTAD), the most widely used hole transport material in high-efficiency perovskite solar cells (PSCs), still has serious defects, such as moisture absorption and poor long-term conductivity, which seriously restrict further improvement of the power conversion efficiency (PCE) and stability of the cell. Herein, to overcome these problems, inorganic salt PbSO₄(PbO)₄ quantum dots (QDs) are incorporated into spiro-OMeTAD as the hole transport layer (HTL) for the first time. The incorporated PbSO₄(PbO)₄ QDs significantly hinder the agglomeration of lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)-imide and improve the long-term conductivity through the oxidative interaction between PbSO₄(PbO)₄ QDs and spiro-OMeTAD and hydrophobicity of the HTL. Furthermore, the spiro-OMeTAD:PbSO₄(PbO)₄ composite film can effectively passivate perovskite defects at the perovskite/HTL interface, resulting in suppressed interfacial recombination. As a result, the PSC based on the spiro-OMeTAD:PbSO₄(PbO)₄ HTL shows an improved PCE of 22.66%, which is much higher than that (18.89%) of the control device. PbSO₄(PbO)₄ also significantly improves the moisture stability for 50 days at room temperature (at RH ∼ 40-50%) without encapsulation. This work indicates that inorganic PbSO₄(PbO)₄ QDs are crucial materials that can be employed as an additive in spiro-OMeTAD to enhance the efficiency and stability of PSCs.

Visualization of halide perovskite crystal growth processes by in situ heating WAXS measurements

We observed the crystallization dynamics of halide perovskite crystals (CH3NH3PbI3) by in situ heating wide-angle X-ray scattering measurements. As a result, we revealed that crystal growth occurs during the conversion of complexes to perovskite crystals.