Hysteresis-free low-temperature-processed planar perovskite solar cells with 19.1% efficiency

Abstract

Hysteresis-free, highly efficient and stable perovskite solar cells processed at low temperatures are strongly demanded to realize flexible or perovskite-based tandem solar cells. Here, we report a hysteresis-free planar CH₃NH₃PbI₃ perovskite solar cell with a power conversion efficiency of 19.1% using a room-temperature vacuum-processed C₆₀ electron transport layer (ETL) without the hole blocking layer. By optimizing the thickness of the C₆₀ layer, the highly homogeneous, uniform, and dense ETL with a thickness of 35 nm is found to not only passivate the grain boundaries and surfaces of the perovskite layer, but also enhance charge transport properties. Thus, the C₆₀ layer deposited on perovskites eliminates the photocurrent hysteresis and improves the cell efficiency. Also, compared to the device adopting the C₆₀ and bathocuproine (BCP) combination, the one with the C₆₀ layer without the BCP layer shows better performance due to enhanced electron extraction properties. Furthermore, for the first time, we have demonstrated a hysteresis-free flexible perovskite solar cell using the C₆₀ ETL on a polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) substrate with 16.0% efficiency.