Thermally Stable Perovskite Solar Cells by Systematic Molecular Design of the Hole-Transport Layer

Schloemer, Tracy H.; Gehan, Timothy S.; Christians, Jeffrey A.; Mitchell, Deborah G.; Dixon, Alex; Li, Zhen; Zhu, Kai; Berry, Joseph J.; Luther, Joseph M.; Sellinger, Alan

doi:10.1021/acsenergylett.8b02431

Thermally Stable Perovskite Solar Cells by Systematic Molecular Design of the Hole-Transport Layer

Journal Article · Mon Jan 07 23:00:00 EST 2019 · ACS Energy Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acsenergylett.8b02431· OSTI ID:1491373

^[1]; Gehan, Timothy S. ^[2]; ^[3]; Mitchell, Deborah G. ^[4]; Dixon, Alex ^[5]; ^[6]; ^[7]; Berry, Joseph J. ^[7]; ^[7]; ^[2]

Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States)
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States)
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Hope College, Holland, MI (United States)
Univ. of Denver, CO (United States)
Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States); Univ. of Nova Gorica, Vipavska (Republic of Slovenia)
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Northwestern Polytechnical Univ., Xi'an (China)
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

With the burgeoning performance of metal halide perovskite solar cells (PSC), one of the biggest challenges to date is addressing device stability. Within the PSC device stack, charge-selective contact selection has been shown to considerably impact PSC stability. Recently, a triarylamine-based hole-transport layer (HTL) doped with its oxidized organic salt analogue (EH44/EH44-ox) has been shown to bypass the need for hygroscopic lithium salt dopants, enabling high PSC stability in ambient conditions. Despite these promising results, the improved stability came with a power conversion efficiency (PCE) penalty and poor performance above 30 degrees C. Broadening the applicability and understanding of this under-utilized dopant system, we report design criteria for stable, synthetically simple triarylamine-based organic hole transport materials (HTM) and their corresponding oxidized salts as HTL dopants for improved PSC efficiency and stability at elevated temperature. The triarylamine-based dopants must contain at least two para-electron donating groups for radical cation stabilization to prevent impurity formation (e.g., dopant reduction) which significantly reduces PSC fill factors (FF) and PCE. To further improve PSC FF and PCE, these dopants can be interchanged with respect to the HTL matrix. The stability of unencapsulated devices prepared with these three new HTLs, under constant load and illumination, considerably outperform both EH44/EH44-ox and Li+-doped spiro-OMeTAD controls at 50 degrees C. The ability to mix and match a stable dopant with a non-identical small-molecule-based HTL matrix for improved charge-transport properties broadens design scope for highly stable and cost-effective PSC without sacrificing performance.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Solar Energy Technologies Office (EE-4S)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308

OSTI ID:: 1491373

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA--5900-71921

Journal Information:: ACS Energy Letters, Journal Name: ACS Energy Letters Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 4; ISSN 2380-8195

Publisher:: American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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