Enhancing stability and efficiency of perovskite solar cells with crosslinkable silane-functionalized and doped fullerene

Authors

Yang Bai, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Qingfeng Dong, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Yuchuan Shao, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Yehao Deng, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Qi Wang, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Liang Shen, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Dong Wang, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Wei Wei, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Jinsong Huang, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2016

Citation

NATURE COMMUNICATIONS 7:12806
DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12806
www.nature.com/naturecommunications

Comments

Copyright by the Authors 2016. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

The instability of hybrid perovskite materials due to water and moisture arises as one major challenge to be addressed before any practical application of the demonstrated high efficiency perovskite solar cells. Here we report a facile strategy that can simultaneously enhance the stability and efficiency of p–i–n planar heterojunction-structure perovskite devices. Crosslinkable silane molecules with hydrophobic functional groups are bonded onto fullerene to make the fullerene layer highly water-resistant. Methylammonium iodide is introduced in the fullerene layer for n-doping via anion-induced electron transfer, resulting in dramatically increased conductivity over 100-fold. With crosslinkable silane-functionalized and doped fullerene electron transport layer, the perovskite devices deliver an efficiency of 19.5% with a high fill factor of 80.6%. A crosslinked silane-modified fullerene layer also enhances the water and moisture stability of the non-sealed perovskite devices by retaining nearly 90% of their original efficiencies after 30 days’ exposure in an ambient environment.