Dopant-Free Phthalocyanine Hole Conductor with Thermal-Induced Holistic Passivation for Stable Perovskite Solar Cells with 23% Efficiency

Simultaneous passivation of the defects at the surface and grain boundaries of perovskite films is crucial to achieve efficient and stable perovskite solar cells (PSCs). It is highly desirable to accomplish the above passivation through rational engineering of hole transport materials (HTMs) in combination with appropriate procedure optimization. Here, methylthiotriphenylamine-substituted copper phthalocyanine (SMe-TPA-CuPc) is reported as a dopant-free HTM for PSCs, exhibiting excellent efficiency, and stability. After thermal annealing, SMe-TPA-CuPc molecules diffused into the bulk of the perovskite film and effectively passivated the defects in the bulk and at the interface of the perovskite, owing to the strong interaction between the methylthio moiety and undercoordinated lead. The best-performing annealed SMe-TPA-CuPc-based device shows efficiency of 21.51%, which is higher than the unannealed SMe-TPA-CuPc-based device (power-conversion efficiency (PCE) of 20.75%) and reference doped spiro-OMeTAD-based device (PCE of 20.61%). Further modification of the perovskite of the annealed SMe-TPA-CuPc-based device by the QAPyBF4 additive result in even higher efficiency of 23.0%. It also shows excellent stability, maintaining 96% of its initial efficiency after 3624 h aging at 85 degrees C. This work highlights the great potential of phthalocyanine-based dopant-free HTMs and the defect passivation by thermal-induced molecular diffusion strategy for developing highly efficient and stable PSCs.

Automated summary

Simultaneous passivation of surface and grain boundary defects in perovskite films is crucial for efficient and stable perovskite solar cells. This study demonstrates the use of a dopant-free hole transport material to effectively passivate the defects in perovskite films through thermal-induced molecular diffusion. The resulting devices exhibit excellent efficiency and stability, highlighting the potential of phthalocyanine-based dopant-free hole transport materials and defect passivation strategies for developing highly efficient and stable perovskite solar cells.