Origin of J–V Hysteresis in Perovskite Solar Cells

Abstract

High-performance perovskite solar cells (PSCs) based on organometal halide perovskite have emerged in the past five years as excellent devices for harvesting solar energy. Some remaining challenges should be resolved to continue the momentum in their development. The photocurrent density-voltage (J-V) responses of the PSCs demonstrate anomalous dependence on the voltage scan direction/rate/range, voltage conditioning history, and device configuration. The hysteretic J-V behavior presents a challenge for determining the accurate power conversion efficiency of the PSCs. Here, we review the recent progress on the investigation of the origin(s) of J-V hysteresis behavior in PSCs. We discuss the impact of slow transient capacitive current, trapping and detrapping process, ion migrations, and ferroelectric polarization on the hysteresis behavior. The remaining issues and future research required toward the understanding of J-V hysteresis in PSCs will also be discussed.

Capturing the Sun: A Review of the Challenges and Perspectives of Perovskite Solar Cells

“…[130] Leguy et al [131] estimated the expected time interval within a millisecond range, and noted that ferroelectric materials require an electric field (larger than the coercive field) to switch ferroelectric domains, which contradicts the observations in step-wise J-V curve measurements, exhibiting always a transition-like behavior. [132] Hence, although the contribution of ferroelectricity to hysteresis is still under debate, [133] the above discussion suggests that ferroelectric polarization may not play a dominant role in the J-V hysteretic behavior. A recent study employing PFM found periodic twin domains that point towards the direction of ferroelasticity and would require a noncentrosymmetric polar space group, I4 cm, that is also often assigned to MAPbI 3 in the literature.…”

Influence of the substrate on the bulk properties of hybrid lead halide perovskite films

“…Different explanations have been provided in order to understand hysteresis observed for Perovskite Solar Cells (PSCs). 14 The most accepted hypothesis attributes part of this hysteresis to bulk ion migration along the perovskite layer 15,16,17 although this hysteresis 4 is also strongly affected by the kind of substrate employed. 18 In this work we have investigated to what extent the substrate is influencing not just interfacial properties but also bulk properties of perovskite films by the use of different oxide and non-oxide substrates.…”

Reduction in the Interfacial Trap Density of Mechanochemically Synthesized MAPbI3

“…We found that the hysteresis characteristics affect the FF (forward scan) in these two devices, but this effect is more pronounced in MAPbI 3 (s) mainly at the maximum power point leading to a higher hysteresis (for statistics of ΔPCE see Figure S7). 34 In addition, we report the PCE evolution of the devices during a continuous operation at the In principle, considering an efficient charge transport into the perovskite absorber layer and the kinetics at interface (TiO 2 /perovskite) that facilitates charge accumulation, the net difference in J-V characteristics through scanning in the forward and backward direction is analogous to the surface property of perovskite. 35,36 According to recent reports, the charge/ion accumulation at TiO 2 /perovskite interface is intimately responsible for the hysteresis response of the devices.…”