Water- and heat-activated dynamic passivation for perovskite photovoltaics

Wei-Ting Wang; Philippe Holzhey; Ning Zhou; Qiang Zhang; Suer Zhou; Elisabeth A Duijnstee; Kevin J Rietwyk; Jeng-Yu Lin; Yijie Mu; Yanfeng Zhang; Udo Bach; Chun-Guey Wu; Hin-Lap Yip; Henry J Snaith; Shien-Ping Feng

doi:10.1038/s41586-024-07705-5

Water- and heat-activated dynamic passivation for perovskite photovoltaics

Nature. 2024 Aug;632(8024):294-300. doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07705-5. Epub 2024 Jun 24.

Authors

Wei-Ting Wang^#¹, Philippe Holzhey^#^{2

3}, Ning Zhou^#⁴, Qiang Zhang^#⁵, Suer Zhou², Elisabeth A Duijnstee², Kevin J Rietwyk³, Jeng-Yu Lin⁶, Yijie Mu^{1

7}, Yanfeng Zhang⁵, Udo Bach³, Chun-Guey Wu⁸, Hin-Lap Yip^{4

9

10

11}, Henry J Snaith¹², Shien-Ping Feng^{13

14}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Systems Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
² Clarendon Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
³ Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
⁴ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
⁵ School of Chemistry, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
⁶ Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Tunghai University, Taichung City, Taiwan.
⁷ Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong.
⁸ Department of Chemistry and Research Center for New Generation Light Driven Photovoltaic Modules, National Central University, Taoyuan City, Taiwan.
⁹ School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
¹⁰ Hong Kong Institute for Clean Energy, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
¹¹ Center of Super-Diamond and Advanced Films, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
¹² Clarendon Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. [email protected].
¹³ Department of Systems Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong. [email protected].
¹⁴ Hong Kong Institute for Clean Energy, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong. [email protected].

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Further improvements in perovskite solar cells require better control of ionic defects in the perovskite photoactive layer during the manufacturing stage and their usage^1-5. Here we report a living passivation strategy using a hindered urea/thiocarbamate bond^6-8 Lewis acid-base material (HUBLA), where dynamic covalent bonds with water and heat-activated characteristics can dynamically heal the perovskite to ensure device performance and stability. Upon exposure to moisture or heat, HUBLA generates new agents and further passivates defects in the perovskite. This passivation strategy achieved high-performance devices with a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 25.1 per cent. HUBLA devices retained 94 per cent of their initial PCE for approximately 1,500 hours of ageing at 85 degrees Celsius in nitrogen and maintained 88 per cent of their initial PCE after 1,000 hours of ageing at 85 degrees Celsius and 30 per cent relative humidity in air.