Halogen-Bonded Hole-Transport Material Suppresses Charge Recombination and Enhances Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells

Laura Canil; Jagadish Salunke; Qiong Wang; Maning Liu; Hans Köbler; Marion Flatken; Luca Gregori; Daniele Meggiolaro; Damiano Ricciarelli; Filippo De Angelis; Martin Stolterfoht; Dieter Neher; Arri Priimägi; Paola Vivo; Antonio Abate

doi:10.1002/aenm.202101553

Halogen-Bonded Hole-Transport Material Suppresses Charge Recombination and Enhances Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells

Laura Canil
, Jagadish Salunke
, Qiong Wang
, Maning Liu
, Hans Köbler
, Marion Flatken
, Luca Gregori
, Daniele Meggiolaro
, Damiano Ricciarelli
, Filippo De Angelis
, Martin Stolterfoht
, Dieter Neher
, Arri Priimägi
, Paola Vivo
, Antonio Abate^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review

60 Citations (Scopus)

18 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Interfaces play a crucial role in determining perovskite solar cells, (PSCs) performance and stability. It is therefore of great importance to constantly work toward improving their design. This study shows the advantages of using a hole-transport material (HTM) that can anchor to the perovskite surface through halogen bonding (XB). A halo-functional HTM (PFI) is compared to a reference HTM (PF), identical in optoelectronic properties and chemical structure but lacking the ability to form XB. The interaction between PFI and perovskite is supported by simulations and experiments. XB allows the HTM to create an ordered and homogenous layer on the perovskite surface, thus improving the perovskite/HTM interface and its energy level alignment. Thanks to the compact and ordered interface, PFI displays increased resistance to solvent exposure compared to its not-interacting counterpart. Moreover, PFI devices show suppressed nonradiative recombination and reduced hysteresis, with a V_oc enhancement of ≥20 mV and a remarkable stability, retaining more than 90% efficiency after 550 h of continuous maximum-power-point tracking. This work highlights the potential that XB can bring to the context of PSCs, paving the way for a new halo-functional design strategy for charge-transport layers, which tackles the challenges of charge transport and interface improvement simultaneously.

Original language	English
Article number	2101553
Number of pages	9
Journal	Advanced Energy Materials
Volume	11
Issue number	35
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202101553
Publication status	Published - 2021
Publication type	A1 Journal article-refereed

Funding

L.C. and P.V. thank Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH and Business Finland (SolarWAVE project) for financial support. The work is part of the Academy of Finland Flagship Programme, Photonics Research and Innovation (PREIN), decision 320165. M.L. thanks Finnish Cultural Foundation (00210670) for financial support. J.S. is grateful to the Fortum Foundation (201800260). A.P. gratefully acknowledges the financial support from the Academy of Finland (SUPREL project; decision numbers 311142 & 326416). L.C. thanks Jorge Pascual Mielgo and Carolin Rehermann for the many useful suggestions, as well as Nikolai Severin for helping with the AFM measurements, and Thomas Dittrich for the fruitful discussions and for providing the Kelvin Probe setup. L.C., M.F., and H.K. acknowledge the HyPerCells graduate school, organized jointly by the University of Potsdam and HZB.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy

Keywords

halogen bonding
hole-transport materials
interfaces
perovskite solar cells

Publication forum classification

Publication forum level 3

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
General Materials Science

Access to Document

10.1002/aenm.202101553Licence: CC BY

Halogen-Bonded Hole-Transport
CC BY
Final published version, 1.61 MBLicence: CC BY

http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202109237239Licence: CC BY

Red Labs for soft photonic, robotic and energy materials
Priimägi, A. (Contact), Vivo, P. (Contact) & Nonappa, N. (Contact)
Materials Science and Environmental Engineering
Facility/equipment: Research infrastructure

Cite this

Canil, L., Salunke, J., Wang, Q., Liu, M., Köbler, H., Flatken, M., Gregori, L., Meggiolaro, D., Ricciarelli, D., De Angelis, F., Stolterfoht, M., Neher, D., Priimägi, A., Vivo, P., & Abate, A. (2021). Halogen-Bonded Hole-Transport Material Suppresses Charge Recombination and Enhances Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells. Advanced Energy Materials, 11(35), Article 2101553. https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202101553

@article{0700fe54946f4b148d225de6b17dd075,

title = "Halogen-Bonded Hole-Transport Material Suppresses Charge Recombination and Enhances Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells",

abstract = "Interfaces play a crucial role in determining perovskite solar cells, (PSCs) performance and stability. It is therefore of great importance to constantly work toward improving their design. This study shows the advantages of using a hole-transport material (HTM) that can anchor to the perovskite surface through halogen bonding (XB). A halo-functional HTM (PFI) is compared to a reference HTM (PF), identical in optoelectronic properties and chemical structure but lacking the ability to form XB. The interaction between PFI and perovskite is supported by simulations and experiments. XB allows the HTM to create an ordered and homogenous layer on the perovskite surface, thus improving the perovskite/HTM interface and its energy level alignment. Thanks to the compact and ordered interface, PFI displays increased resistance to solvent exposure compared to its not-interacting counterpart. Moreover, PFI devices show suppressed nonradiative recombination and reduced hysteresis, with a Voc enhancement of ≥20 mV and a remarkable stability, retaining more than 90\% efficiency after 550 h of continuous maximum-power-point tracking. This work highlights the potential that XB can bring to the context of PSCs, paving the way for a new halo-functional design strategy for charge-transport layers, which tackles the challenges of charge transport and interface improvement simultaneously.",

keywords = "halogen bonding, hole-transport materials, interfaces, perovskite solar cells",

author = "Laura Canil and Jagadish Salunke and Qiong Wang and Maning Liu and Hans K{\"o}bler and Marion Flatken and Luca Gregori and Daniele Meggiolaro and Damiano Ricciarelli and \{De Angelis\}, Filippo and Martin Stolterfoht and Dieter Neher and Arri Priim{\"a}gi and Paola Vivo and Antonio Abate",

note = "Funding Information: L.C. and P.V. thank Forschungszentrum J{\"u}lich GmbH and Business Finland (SolarWAVE project) for financial support. The work is part of the Academy of Finland Flagship Programme, Photonics Research and Innovation (PREIN), decision 320165. M.L. thanks Finnish Cultural Foundation (00210670) for financial support. J.S. is grateful to the Fortum Foundation (201800260). A.P. gratefully acknowledges the financial support from the Academy of Finland (SUPREL project; decision numbers 311142 \& 326416). L.C. thanks Jorge Pascual Mielgo and Carolin Rehermann for the many useful suggestions, as well as Nikolai Severin for helping with the AFM measurements, and Thomas Dittrich for the fruitful discussions and for providing the Kelvin Probe setup. L.C., M.F., and H.K. acknowledge the HyPerCells graduate school, organized jointly by the University of Potsdam and HZB. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 The Authors. Advanced Energy Materials published by Wiley-VCH GmbH",

year = "2021",

doi = "10.1002/aenm.202101553",

language = "English",

volume = "11",

journal = "Advanced Energy Materials",

issn = "1614-6832",

publisher = "John Wiley and Sons Inc",

number = "35",

}

Canil, L, Salunke, J, Wang, Q, Liu, M, Köbler, H, Flatken, M, Gregori, L, Meggiolaro, D, Ricciarelli, D, De Angelis, F, Stolterfoht, M, Neher, D, Priimägi, A , Vivo, P & Abate, A 2021, 'Halogen-Bonded Hole-Transport Material Suppresses Charge Recombination and Enhances Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells', Advanced Energy Materials, vol. 11, no. 35, 2101553. https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202101553

TY - JOUR

T1 - Halogen-Bonded Hole-Transport Material Suppresses Charge Recombination and Enhances Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells

AU - Canil, Laura

AU - Salunke, Jagadish

AU - Wang, Qiong

AU - Liu, Maning

AU - Köbler, Hans

AU - Flatken, Marion

AU - Gregori, Luca

AU - Meggiolaro, Daniele

AU - Ricciarelli, Damiano

AU - De Angelis, Filippo

AU - Stolterfoht, Martin

AU - Neher, Dieter

AU - Priimägi, Arri

AU - Vivo, Paola

AU - Abate, Antonio

N1 - Funding Information: L.C. and P.V. thank Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH and Business Finland (SolarWAVE project) for financial support. The work is part of the Academy of Finland Flagship Programme, Photonics Research and Innovation (PREIN), decision 320165. M.L. thanks Finnish Cultural Foundation (00210670) for financial support. J.S. is grateful to the Fortum Foundation (201800260). A.P. gratefully acknowledges the financial support from the Academy of Finland (SUPREL project; decision numbers 311142 & 326416). L.C. thanks Jorge Pascual Mielgo and Carolin Rehermann for the many useful suggestions, as well as Nikolai Severin for helping with the AFM measurements, and Thomas Dittrich for the fruitful discussions and for providing the Kelvin Probe setup. L.C., M.F., and H.K. acknowledge the HyPerCells graduate school, organized jointly by the University of Potsdam and HZB. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Authors. Advanced Energy Materials published by Wiley-VCH GmbH

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - Interfaces play a crucial role in determining perovskite solar cells, (PSCs) performance and stability. It is therefore of great importance to constantly work toward improving their design. This study shows the advantages of using a hole-transport material (HTM) that can anchor to the perovskite surface through halogen bonding (XB). A halo-functional HTM (PFI) is compared to a reference HTM (PF), identical in optoelectronic properties and chemical structure but lacking the ability to form XB. The interaction between PFI and perovskite is supported by simulations and experiments. XB allows the HTM to create an ordered and homogenous layer on the perovskite surface, thus improving the perovskite/HTM interface and its energy level alignment. Thanks to the compact and ordered interface, PFI displays increased resistance to solvent exposure compared to its not-interacting counterpart. Moreover, PFI devices show suppressed nonradiative recombination and reduced hysteresis, with a Voc enhancement of ≥20 mV and a remarkable stability, retaining more than 90% efficiency after 550 h of continuous maximum-power-point tracking. This work highlights the potential that XB can bring to the context of PSCs, paving the way for a new halo-functional design strategy for charge-transport layers, which tackles the challenges of charge transport and interface improvement simultaneously.

AB - Interfaces play a crucial role in determining perovskite solar cells, (PSCs) performance and stability. It is therefore of great importance to constantly work toward improving their design. This study shows the advantages of using a hole-transport material (HTM) that can anchor to the perovskite surface through halogen bonding (XB). A halo-functional HTM (PFI) is compared to a reference HTM (PF), identical in optoelectronic properties and chemical structure but lacking the ability to form XB. The interaction between PFI and perovskite is supported by simulations and experiments. XB allows the HTM to create an ordered and homogenous layer on the perovskite surface, thus improving the perovskite/HTM interface and its energy level alignment. Thanks to the compact and ordered interface, PFI displays increased resistance to solvent exposure compared to its not-interacting counterpart. Moreover, PFI devices show suppressed nonradiative recombination and reduced hysteresis, with a Voc enhancement of ≥20 mV and a remarkable stability, retaining more than 90% efficiency after 550 h of continuous maximum-power-point tracking. This work highlights the potential that XB can bring to the context of PSCs, paving the way for a new halo-functional design strategy for charge-transport layers, which tackles the challenges of charge transport and interface improvement simultaneously.

KW - halogen bonding

KW - hole-transport materials

KW - interfaces

KW - perovskite solar cells

U2 - 10.1002/aenm.202101553

DO - 10.1002/aenm.202101553

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85112596212

SN - 1614-6832

VL - 11

JO - Advanced Energy Materials

JF - Advanced Energy Materials

IS - 35

M1 - 2101553

ER -

Halogen-Bonded Hole-Transport Material Suppresses Charge Recombination and Enhances Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells

Abstract

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

Publication forum classification

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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