Tailoring electric dipole of hole-transporting material p-dopants for perovskite solar cells

Li-TFSI/t-BP are the most widely employed p-dopants for hole-transporting materials (HTMs) within the state-of-the-art perovskite solar cells (PSCs). The hygroscopicity and migration of these dopants, however, lead to devices with limited stability. To solve this problem, we report here on a diphenyl iodide cation and pentafluorophenyl boric acid anion-based dopant (DIC-PBA) with an oriented interfacial dipole moment as an alternative to Li-TFSI/t-BP. Theoretical and experimental data reveal that DIC-PBA exhibits deep doping of poly[bis(4-phenyl)(2,4,6-triMethylphenyl)aMine] (PTAA) and also creates p-doping of perovskite surface, which originates from ionic interactions-derived dipole arrangement that yields fast interfacial charge transport. The improved intrinsic stability of PSCs originates from the inhibition of dipole moment degeneration on the perovskite surface. Devices prepared with DIC-PBA yielded high efficiency of 22.86%, and the modules (aperture area: 33.2 cm(2)) efficiency reached 19.13%. Importantly, the storage stability also significantly improved exceeding to 90% after aging 1,200 h under air ambient.

Automated summary

This study reports a new dopant, DIC-PBA, as an alternative to Li-TFSI/t-BP, which improves the stability and efficiency of perovskite solar cells. Experimental results show that DIC-PBA can effectively dope HTMs and the perovskite surface, improving interfacial charge transport and thus enhancing the stability and efficiency of the cells.