A low-symmetry monothiatruxene-based hole transport material for planar n–i–p perovskite solar cells with 18.9% efficiency

Abstract

Hole transport materials (HTMs) based on truxene cores have emerged as promising candidates in recent years. They are noted by properties such as higher hole mobility and higher glass transition temperature than the 2,2′,7,7′-tetrakis (N,N-di-p-methoxyphenamine)-9,9′-spirobiflourene (spiro-MeOTAD), as well as good hydrophobicity and energy alignment. Truxene derivatives have been studied for application in transistors, OLEDs, lasers, supercapacitors, etc., however, there are only a few studies on their use as HTMs in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). In this study, we synthesised a novel small organic molecule HTM with a monothiatruxene (TrxS) core, namely TrxS-2MeOTAD, and characterised its basic properties and ability as an HTM in n–i–p planar PSCs. The TrxS-2MeOTAD showed suitable electrochemical, optical, structural and thermal properties for an HTM, such as a relatively high glass transition temperature (145 °C) and stable amorphous nature when deposited as films. The PSCs using TrxS-2MeOTAD achieved 18.9% power conversion efficiency (PCE) compared to the reference spiro-MeOTAD at 19.3% PCE. The unencapsulated TrxS-2MeOTAD devices showed better operational stability than spiro-MeOTAD, with a 1.5 times longer lifetime under constant AM1.5G illumination. Our results suggest that small molecules based on the TrxS core can be a promising direction for the development of alternative HTMs.