Jia Xu

Organic–inorganic hybrid flexible perovskite solar cells (F-PSCs) have garnered considerable interest owing to their exceptional power conversion efficiency (PCE) and stable operational characteristics. However, F-PSCs continue to exhibit significantly lower PCE than their rigid counterparts. Herein, we employed 3-chloro-4-methoxybenzylamine hydrochloride (CMBACl) treatment to grow in situ two-dimensional (2D) perovskite layers on three-dimensional (3D) perovskite films. Through comprehensive physicochemical characterization, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and photoluminescence (PL) mapping, we demonstrated that CMBACl treatment enabled the in situ growth of two-dimensional (2D) perovskite layers on three-dimensional (3D) perovskite films via chemical interactions between CMBA+ cations and undercoordinated Pb2+ sites. The organic cation (CMBA+) bound to uncoordinated Pb2+ ions and residual PbI2, while the chlorine anion (Cl−) filled iodine vacancies in the perovskite lattice, thereby forming a high-quality 2D/3D heterojunction structure. The CMBACl treatment effectively passivated surface defects in the perovskite films, prolonged charge carrier lifetimes, and enhanced the operational stability of the photovoltaic devices. Additionally, the hybrid 2D/3D architecture also improved energy band matching, thereby boosting charge transfer performance. The optimized flexible devices demonstrated a PCE of 23.15%, while retaining over 82% of their initial efficiency after enduring 5000 bending cycles under a 5 mm curvature radius (R = 5 mm). The unpackaged devices retained 94% of their initial efficiency after 1000 h under ambient conditions with a relative humidity (RH) of 45 ± 5%. This strategy offers practical guidelines for selecting interface passivation materials to enhance the efficiency and stability of F-PSCs.

Efficient exciton dissociation in 2D Cs ₂ Pb(SCN) ₂ I ₂ perovskite with ultra-small interlayer spacing for high-performance photodetector.

Conventional hole transport layer (HTL) Spiro-OMeTAD requires the addition of hygroscopic dopants due to its low conductivity and hole mobility, resulting in a high preparation cost and poor device stability. Cuprous thiocyanate (CuSCN) is a cost-effective alternative with a suitable energy structure and high hole mobility. However, CuSCN-based perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are affected by environmental factors, and the solvents of an HTL can potentially corrode the perovskite layer. In this study, a Co₃O₄/CuSCN/Co₃O₄ sandwich structure was proposed as an HTL for inorganic Cs₂PbI₂Cl₂/CsPbI_2.5Br_0.5 PSCs to address these issues. The Co₃O₄ layers can serve as buffer and encapsulation layers, protecting the perovskite layer from solvent-induced corrosion and enhancing hole mobility at the interface. Based on this sandwich structure, the photovoltaic performances of the Cs₂PbI₂Cl₂/CsPbI_2.5Br_0.5 PSCs are significantly improved, with the power conversion efficiency (PCE) increasing from 9.87% (without Co₃O₄) to 11.06%. Furthermore, the thermal stability of the devices is also significantly enhanced, retaining 80% of its initial PCE after 40 h of continuous aging at 60 °C. These results indicate that the Co₃O₄/CuSCN/Co₃O₄ sandwich structure can effectively mitigate the corrosion of the perovskite layer by solvents of an HTL and significantly improves the photovoltaic performance and thermal stability of devices.

Cesium bismuth iodide perovskite material offers good stability toward ambient conditions and has potential optoelectronic characteristics. However, wide bandgap, absorber surface roughness, and poor surface coverage with pinholes are among the key impediments to its adoption as a photovoltaic absorber material. Herein, bandgap modification and the tailoring of surface morphology have been performed through molar ratio variation and antisolvent treatment, whereby type III antisolvent (toluene) based on Hansen space has been utilized. XRD and Raman spectroscopy analyses confirm the formation of a 0D/2D mixed dimensional structure with improved optoelectronic properties when the molar ratio of CsI/BiI₃ was adjusted from 1.5:1 to 1:1.5. The absorption results and Tauc plot determination show that the fabricated film has a lower bandgap of 1.80 eV. TRPL analysis reveals that the film possesses a very low charge carrier lifetime of 0.94 ns, suggesting deep defects. Toluene improves the charge carrier lifetime to 1.89 ns. The average grain size also increases from 323.26 nm to 444.3 nm upon toluene addition. Additionally, the inclusion of toluene results in a modest improvement in PCE, from 0.23% to 0.33%.

All-inorganic perovskite solar cells are attractive photovoltaic devices because of their excellent optoelectronic performance and thermal stability. Unfortunately, the currently used efficient inorganic perovskite materials can spontaneously transform into undesirable phases without light-absorption properties. Studies have been carried out to stabilize all-inorganic perovskite by mixing low-dimensional perovskite. Compared with organic two-dimensional (2D) perovskite, inorganic 2D Cs₂PbI₂Cl₂ shows superior thermal stability. Our group has successfully fabricated 2D/3D mixed-dimensional Cs₂PbI₂Cl₂/CsPbI_2.5Br_0.5 films with increasing phase stability. The high boiling point of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) makes it a preferred solvent in the preparation of Cs₂PbI₂Cl₂/CsPbI_2.5Br_0.5 inorganic perovskite. When the perovskite films are prepared by the one-step solution method, it is difficult to evaporate the residual solvent molecules from the prefabricated films, resulting in films with rough surface morphology and high defect density. This study used the rapid precipitation method to control the formation of perovskite by treating it with methanol/isopropanol (MT/IPA) mixed solvent to produce densely packed, smooth, and high-crystallized perovskite films. The bulk defects and the carrier transport barrier of the interface were effectively reduced, which decreased the recombination of the carriers in the device. As a result, this effectively improved photoelectric performance. Through treatment with MT/IPA, the photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) of solar cells prepared in the N₂ atmosphere increased from 13.44% to 14.10%, and the PCE of the device prepared in the air increased from 3.52% to 8.91%.

All-inorganic Sb-perovskite has become a promising material for solar cell applications owing to its air stability and nontoxic lead-free constitution. However, the poor morphology and unexpected (001) orientation of Sb-based perovskite films strongly hinder the improvement of efficiency. In this work, two-dimensional Cs₃Sb₂Cl_xI_9−x with (201) preferred orientation has been successfully fabricated by introducing thiourea (TU) to the precursor solution. The presence of the C=S functional group in TU regulates the crystallization dynamics of Cs₃Sb₂I_9−xCl_x films and generates the (201) preferred orientation of Cs₃Sb₂Cl_xI_9−x films, which could effectively improve the carrier transport and film morphology. As a result, the Cs₃Sb₂I_9−xCl_x perovskite solar cells (PSCs) delivered a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 2.22%. Moreover, after being stored in nitrogen at room temperature for 60 days, the devices retained above 87.69% of their original efficiency. This work demonstrates a potential pathway to achieve high-efficiency Sb-based PSCs.

Inorganic cubic CsPbI₃ perovskite (α‐CsPbI₃) has been widely explored for perovskite solar cells (PSCs) due to its thermal stability and suitable bandgap of 1.73 eV. However, α‐CsPbI₃ usually requires high synthesis temperatures (>320 °C). Additionally, it usually undergoes phase transition to the nonperovskite structure phase (β‐CsPbI₃), which results in poor photoelectric performance in devices. In this study, it is first found that the tortuous 3D CsPbI₃ phase (γ‐CsPbI₃) can be prepared and used for PSCs by solution process without any additive at low temperature (60 °C). The γ‐CsPbI₃ exhibits suitable bandgap of 1.75 eV and favorable photoelectric properties. However, γ‐CsPbI₃ is a metastable phase and easily transforms into β‐CsPbI₃ in ambient moisture. In order to improve the stability of γ‐CsPbI₃, calcium ions (Ca²⁺) with a relatively small radius of 100 pm are used to partially substitute lead ions (119 pm). This research proves that Ca²⁺ can effectively improve the stability of the γ‐CsPbI₃ at room temperature. By optimizing the doping concentration of Ca²⁺ (CsPb_1−xCa_xI₃, x is from 0% to 2%), the Ca²⁺‐doped γ‐CsPbI₃ PSCs achieve a hysteresis‐free J–V curve and a maximum power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 9.20%.

All-inorganic cesium lead perovskites have emerged as alternative absorbing layers in solar cells owing to their superb thermal stability compared with the organic–inorganic hybrid perovskites. However, the desired cubic CsPbI₃ phase forms at a high temperature and suffers from a phase transition to the orthorhombic yellow phase at room temperature. A developed nonstoichiometric method is applied to fabricate CsPbI_3–xBr_x (x < 1) films by adding excess CsBr into the precursor solution. The excess CsBr in the precursor solution helps to produce a microstrain in the lattice to stabilize the cubic CsPbI₃ phase at low temperature and incorporate a small part of Br^– into the CsPbI₃ lattice. At the optimal CsBr concentration (0.5 M), the corresponding solar cell achieves a power conversion efficiency of 10.92%. This work provides an effective way to stabilize the cubic CsPbI_3–xBr_x (x < 1) phase at low temperature to further improve the performance of all-inorganic perovskite solar cells.

Carboxyl‐substituted perylene (PTCA) has been successfully applied as the electron‐transport layer in perovskite solar cells. The large rigid π–π conjugated plane structure in PTCA endows it excellent electronic transmission performance. By the carboxyl groups, PTCA can effectively connect the perovskite layer and FTO, thus reducing the interface barriers induced by weak contact, resulting in a high PCE of 16.09%. In addition, the PTCA‐based devices exhibit remarkable stability under illumination in ambient conditions without encapsulation.