Strengthened Surface Modification for High-Performance Inorganic Perovskite Solar Cells with 21.3% Efficiency

Metal halide inorganic perovskites show excellent thermal stability compared to organic-inorganic perovskites. However, the performance of inorganic perovskite solar cells (PSCs) is far from theoretical values, together with unsatisfactory stability, mainly due to the poor interfacial properties. In this work, a facial but effective method is reported to realize high-performance inorganic PSCs by post-modifying the perovskite surface with 2-thiophene ethylamine (TEA). It is found that amine group from TEA can favorably interact with the undercoordinated Pb2+ via Lewis acid-based coordination, while thiophene ring with electron-rich sulfur assists such interaction by functioning as an electron donor. The synergetic interaction allows TEA to passivate perovskite film defects more efficiently, as compared to phenethylamine (PEA) with less electron-donating ability. Moreover, perovskite valence band is slightly upward shift to match with hole transport material and facilitate hole transfer. These combinations result in a reduced non-radiative charge recombination and improved charge carrier lifetime. Consequently, PSCs with TEA modification shows a drastic improvement of V-OC by 54 mV, yielding a champion PCE of 21.3%, much higher than the control PSCs (19.3%), along with improved ambient stability. This work demonstrates that surface modifier with an electron-rich moiety is critical for achieving efficient and stable inorganic PSCs.

Automated summary

This study presents a facile yet effective method for achieving high-performance inorganic perovskite solar cells (PSCs) by post-modifying the perovskite surface with 2-thiophene ethylamine (TEA). The amine group from TEA interacts favorably with undercoordinated Pb2+ through Lewis acid-based coordination, while the thiophene ring with electron-rich sulfur assists this interaction as an electron donor. The synergetic interaction allows TEA to efficiently passivate perovskite film defects, reducing non-radiative charge recombination and improving charge carrier lifetime, resulting in significantly improved PSC performance and environmental stability.