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Barrier reinforcement for enhanced perovskite solar cell stability under reverse bias

Nature Energy volume 9, pages 1264–1274 (2024)Cite this article

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Abstract

Stability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) under light, heat, humidity and their combinations have been notably improved recently. However, PSCs have poor reverse-bias stability that limits their real-world application. Here we report a systematic study on the degradation mechanisms of p–i–n structure PSCs under reverse bias. The oxidation of iodide by injected holes at the cathode side initialize the reverse-bias-induced degradation, then the generated neutral iodine oxidizes metal electrode such as copper, followed by drift of Cu+ into perovskites and its reduction by injected electrons, resulting in localized metallic filaments and thus device breakdown. A reinforced barrier with combined lithium fluoride, tin oxide and indium tin oxide at the cathode side reduces device dark current and avoids the corrosion of Cu0. It dramatically increases breakdown voltage to above −20 V and improved the T90 lifetime of PSCs to ~1,000 h under –1.6 V. The modified minimodule also maintained over 90% of its initial performance after 720 h of shadow tests.

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Fig. 1: Breakdown of PSCs under reverse bias.
Fig. 2: Long-term degradation of PSCs under reverse bias.
Fig. 3: The pathways to reinforce ion migration and the charge injection barrier.
Fig. 4: The photovoltaic performance of small-area PSCs (0.08 cm2).
Fig. 5: The photovoltaic performance of large-area minimodules.

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All data generated or analysed during this study are included in the published article and its supplementary information. Source data are provided with this paper.

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Acknowledgements

This material is based upon work supported by the US Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) under Solar Energy Technologies Office award number DE-EE0009520. This work was authored in part by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, operated by Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC, for the US Department of Energy (DOE) under contract number DE-AC36-08GO28308. The views expressed in the article do not necessarily represent the views of the DOE or the US Government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Physical Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Nengxu Li, Zhifang Shi, Chengbin Fei, Haoyang Jiao, Mingze Li, Hangyu Gu & Jinsong Huang

  2. Chemistry and Nanoscience Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, USA

    Steven P. Harvey, Yifan Dong & Matthew C. Beard

  3. Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Jinsong Huang

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Contributions

N.L. and J.H. conceived the idea. N.L. fabricated and characterized perovskite films and devices. Z.S. performed the PL mapping and NMR measurements. C.F. and H.G. optimized the device fabrication and laser scribing process. H.J. carried out device encapsulation and performed PL mapping measurements. M.L. conducted XRD measurements. S.P.H, Y.D. and M.C.B. conducted TOF-SIMS measurements. N.L. and J.H. wrote the paper and all authors commented on the paper.

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Correspondence to Jinsong Huang.

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Competing interests

The authors declare the following competing interests: Tandem PV has a license for the following technologies used or evaluated in this paper: an ink formulation for fast coating of perovskites and BHC for reducing iodine. J.H. is an inventor of the technologies and has or could receive royalties. These relationships have been disclosed to and are under management by UNC-Chapel Hill.

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Li, N., Shi, Z., Fei, C. et al. Barrier reinforcement for enhanced perovskite solar cell stability under reverse bias. Nat Energy 9, 1264–1274 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-024-01579-7

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