Investigation on the Mechanism of Radical Intermediate Formation and Moderate Oxidation of Spiro-OMeTAD by the Synergistic Effect of Multisubstituted Polyoxometalates in Perovskite Solar Cells

Conventional oxidation of 2,2',7,7'-tetrakis[N,N-di(4-methoxyphenyl)amino]-9,9'-spirobifluorene (Spiro-OMeTAD) by air would bring various drawbacks for perovskite solar cells (PSCs), such as low power conversion efficiency (PCE) and poor stability. Here, a series of heteroatom-substituted Keggin-type polyoxometalates (POMs), H-4 PMo11VO40 (PMo11V), H5PMo10V2O40 (PMo10V2), and H6PMo9 V3O40 (PMo9V3) are prepared and applied as p-type dopants to realize quantitative and controllable oxidation of Spiro-OMeTAD under an inert condition. The possible mechanism and electron donor regions in the oxidation of Spiro-OMeTAD are investigated using two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra and the relationship between POM structures and the oxidation degree of Spiro-OMeTAD is proposed. In addition, the synergistic effect of heteroatoms makes V-2-substituted PMo10V2 exhibit appropriate oxidation of Spiro-OMeTAD and promoted the highest efficient hole extraction as well as the decreased charge recombination. Therefore, the champion device doped with PMo10V2 shows a PCE of 20.41% and a superior open circuit voltage (V-oc) of 1.133 V, surpassing that of the pristine device (18.61%). This work presents a fresh perspective to the controllable oxidation of Spiro-OMeTAD employing economical inorganic POM dopants, which would promote the commercialization of PSCs.

Automated summary

In this study, a series of heteroatom-substituted polyoxometalates were utilized as dopants to achieve quantitative and controllable oxidation of Spiro-OMeTAD, resulting in improved performance of perovskite solar cells.