Spectral Dependence of Degradation under Ultraviolet Light in Perovskite Solar Cells

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) demonstrate excellent power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) but face severe stability challenges. One key degradation mechanism is exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light. However, the impact of different UV bands is not yet well established. Here, we systematically study the stability of PSCs on the basis of a methylammonium lead iodide (CH3NH3PbI3) absorber exposed to (i) 310-317 (UV-B range) and (ii) 360-380 nm (UV-A range), under accelerated conditions. We demonstrate that the investigated UV-B band is detrimental to the stability of PSCs, resulting in PCE degradation by more than 50% after an exposure period >1700 sun-hours. This finding is valid for architectures with a range of electron transport layers, including SnO2, compact-TiO2, electron-beam TiO2, and nanoparticle-TiO2. We also show that photodegradation is apparent for high, as well as for low illumination intensities of UV-B light, but not for illumination with UV-A wavelengths. Finally, we show that degradation of PSCs is preventable at the cost of a small fraction of photocurrent by using UV-filtering or luminescent downshifting layers.