How to Make 20% Efficient Perovskite Solar Cells in Ambient Air and Encapsulate Them for 500 h of Operational Stability

Abstract

The performance of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) has seen rapid growth in the last decade due to the meticulous optimization of device fabrication procedures and material compositions. Most reports focus on device fabrication protocols in an inert atmosphere. Only a few offer reproducible methods to fabricate PSCs in ambient air, and even fewer report the stable maximum power point (MPP) operation of devices. This methods/ protocol article presents detailed protocols for fabricating 20% milestone PSCs in ambient air and their encapsulation toward a stable 500+ h MPP operation. We also developed a simple encapsulation testing protocol: we found that if an encapsulated device withstands 120 °C heat stress for 5 min in ambient air, it likely withstands long-term MPP conditions.

Accelerated Stress Testing of Perovskite Photovoltaic Modules: Differentiating Degradation Modes with Electroluminescence Imaging

“…Several recent reports show stable power output for MHP devices over hundreds to thousands of hours, employing strategies such as compositional tuning of the active layer, [ 3–5 ] additives to suppress ion migration, [ 6–8 ] interface engineering, [ 9–11 ] morphology control, [ 12–14 ] and encapsulation. [ 15–17 ]…”

“…Several recent reports show stable power output for MHP devices over hundreds to thousands of hours, employing strategies such as compositional tuning of the active layer, [3][4][5] additives to suppress ion migration, [6][7][8] interface engineering, [9][10][11] morphology control, [12][13][14] and encapsulation. [15][16][17] These recent studies highlight an important distinction between disparate degradation pathways: those due to unavoidable stressors (e.g., heat and light) or degradation due to package failure, both of which must be addressed to reach commercial-level durability. That is, degradation due to moisture and UV may be mitigated by effective packaging aimed to decrease impacts of these environmental factors.…”

A New Year and 35 Years of Chemistry of Materials

“…27 A useful Methods/Protocols article accompanies these contributions on best practices for the creation of perovskite solar cells. 28 Luminescent and optical materials (Table 6) 30−35 of all classes round-out the interest in sustainability, while also connecting to detector and sensor applications. Our list of 35 papers concludes with materials discovery (Table 7), 36,37…”

“…Our “35 Voices” initiative will also begin so that we may hear what motivates materials researchers from all over the world. To kick off our 35th year, however, we start by highlighting 35 of the most cited and downloaded manuscripts published in 2022. − …”

“…Catalysts, photovoltaic materials, and thermoelectrics also continue to be important topics given their connection to a sustainable future (Table ), − with two exciting perspectivesone on codesign for oxygen evolution catalysts and the other on halogen bonding in hybrid perovskite photovoltaics . A useful Methods/Protocols article accompanies these contributions on best practices for the creation of perovskite solar cells . Luminescent and optical materials (Table ) − of all classes round-out the interest in sustainability, while also connecting to detector and sensor applications.…”