Sublimed C60 for efficient and repeatable perovskite-based solar cells
Abstract Thermally evaporated C60 is a near-ubiquitous electron transport layer in state-of-the-art p–i–n perovskite-based solar cells. As perovskite photovoltaic technologies are moving toward industrialization, batch-to-batch reproducibility of device performances becomes crucial. Here, we show th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-44974-0 |
| _version_ | 1797276374994518016 |
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| author | Ahmed A. Said Erkan Aydin Esma Ugur Zhaojian Xu Caner Deger Badri Vishal Aleš Vlk Pia Dally Bumin K. Yildirim Randi Azmi Jiang Liu Edward A. Jackson Holly M. Johnson Manting Gui Henning Richter Anil R. Pininti Helen Bristow Maxime Babics Arsalan Razzaq Thomas G. Allen Martin Ledinský Ilhan Yavuz Barry P. Rand Stefaan De Wolf |
| author_facet | Ahmed A. Said Erkan Aydin Esma Ugur Zhaojian Xu Caner Deger Badri Vishal Aleš Vlk Pia Dally Bumin K. Yildirim Randi Azmi Jiang Liu Edward A. Jackson Holly M. Johnson Manting Gui Henning Richter Anil R. Pininti Helen Bristow Maxime Babics Arsalan Razzaq Thomas G. Allen Martin Ledinský Ilhan Yavuz Barry P. Rand Stefaan De Wolf |
| author_sort | Ahmed A. Said |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Thermally evaporated C60 is a near-ubiquitous electron transport layer in state-of-the-art p–i–n perovskite-based solar cells. As perovskite photovoltaic technologies are moving toward industrialization, batch-to-batch reproducibility of device performances becomes crucial. Here, we show that commercial as-received (99.75% pure) C60 source materials may coalesce during repeated thermal evaporation processes, jeopardizing such reproducibility. We find that the coalescence is due to oxygen present in the initial source powder and leads to the formation of deep states within the perovskite bandgap, resulting in a systematic decrease in solar cell performance. However, further purification (through sublimation) of the C60 to 99.95% before evaporation is found to hinder coalescence, with the associated solar cell performances being fully reproducible after repeated processing. We verify the universality of this behavior on perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells by demonstrating their open-circuit voltages and fill factors to remain at 1950 mV and 81% respectively, over eight repeated processes using the same sublimed C60 source material. Notably, one of these cells achieved a certified power conversion efficiency of 30.9%. These findings provide insights crucial for the advancement of perovskite photovoltaic technologies towards scaled production with high process yield. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T15:28:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-059897de3bc249f09c58a631b057c1f8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T15:28:21Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj.art-059897de3bc249f09c58a631b057c1f82024-03-05T16:35:11ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232024-01-0115111010.1038/s41467-024-44974-0Sublimed C60 for efficient and repeatable perovskite-based solar cellsAhmed A. Said0Erkan Aydin1Esma Ugur2Zhaojian Xu3Caner Deger4Badri Vishal5Aleš Vlk6Pia Dally7Bumin K. Yildirim8Randi Azmi9Jiang Liu10Edward A. Jackson11Holly M. Johnson12Manting Gui13Henning Richter14Anil R. Pininti15Helen Bristow16Maxime Babics17Arsalan Razzaq18Thomas G. Allen19Martin Ledinský20Ilhan Yavuz21Barry P. Rand22Stefaan De Wolf23King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), KAUST Solar Center (KSC), Physical Science and Engineering Division (PSE)King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), KAUST Solar Center (KSC), Physical Science and Engineering Division (PSE)King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), KAUST Solar Center (KSC), Physical Science and Engineering Division (PSE)Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Princeton UniversityDepartment of Physics, Marmara UniversityKing Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), KAUST Solar Center (KSC), Physical Science and Engineering Division (PSE)Laboratory of Nanostructures and Nanomaterials, Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech RepublicKing Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), KAUST Solar Center (KSC), Physical Science and Engineering Division (PSE)King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), KAUST Solar Center (KSC), Physical Science and Engineering Division (PSE)King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), KAUST Solar Center (KSC), Physical Science and Engineering Division (PSE)King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), KAUST Solar Center (KSC), Physical Science and Engineering Division (PSE)Nano-C, Inc., 33 Southwest ParkDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Princeton UniversityDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Princeton UniversityNano-C, Inc., 33 Southwest ParkKing Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), KAUST Solar Center (KSC), Physical Science and Engineering Division (PSE)King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), KAUST Solar Center (KSC), Physical Science and Engineering Division (PSE)King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), KAUST Solar Center (KSC), Physical Science and Engineering Division (PSE)King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), KAUST Solar Center (KSC), Physical Science and Engineering Division (PSE)King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), KAUST Solar Center (KSC), Physical Science and Engineering Division (PSE)Laboratory of Nanostructures and Nanomaterials, Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech RepublicDepartment of Physics, Marmara UniversityDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Princeton UniversityKing Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), KAUST Solar Center (KSC), Physical Science and Engineering Division (PSE)Abstract Thermally evaporated C60 is a near-ubiquitous electron transport layer in state-of-the-art p–i–n perovskite-based solar cells. As perovskite photovoltaic technologies are moving toward industrialization, batch-to-batch reproducibility of device performances becomes crucial. Here, we show that commercial as-received (99.75% pure) C60 source materials may coalesce during repeated thermal evaporation processes, jeopardizing such reproducibility. We find that the coalescence is due to oxygen present in the initial source powder and leads to the formation of deep states within the perovskite bandgap, resulting in a systematic decrease in solar cell performance. However, further purification (through sublimation) of the C60 to 99.95% before evaporation is found to hinder coalescence, with the associated solar cell performances being fully reproducible after repeated processing. We verify the universality of this behavior on perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells by demonstrating their open-circuit voltages and fill factors to remain at 1950 mV and 81% respectively, over eight repeated processes using the same sublimed C60 source material. Notably, one of these cells achieved a certified power conversion efficiency of 30.9%. These findings provide insights crucial for the advancement of perovskite photovoltaic technologies towards scaled production with high process yield.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-44974-0 |
| spellingShingle | Ahmed A. Said Erkan Aydin Esma Ugur Zhaojian Xu Caner Deger Badri Vishal Aleš Vlk Pia Dally Bumin K. Yildirim Randi Azmi Jiang Liu Edward A. Jackson Holly M. Johnson Manting Gui Henning Richter Anil R. Pininti Helen Bristow Maxime Babics Arsalan Razzaq Thomas G. Allen Martin Ledinský Ilhan Yavuz Barry P. Rand Stefaan De Wolf Sublimed C60 for efficient and repeatable perovskite-based solar cells Nature Communications |
| title | Sublimed C60 for efficient and repeatable perovskite-based solar cells |
| title_full | Sublimed C60 for efficient and repeatable perovskite-based solar cells |
| title_fullStr | Sublimed C60 for efficient and repeatable perovskite-based solar cells |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sublimed C60 for efficient and repeatable perovskite-based solar cells |
| title_short | Sublimed C60 for efficient and repeatable perovskite-based solar cells |
| title_sort | sublimed c60 for efficient and repeatable perovskite based solar cells |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-44974-0 |
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