High Stability Bilayered Perovskites through Crystallization Driven Self-Assembly

Spacer-Dependent and Pressure-Tuned Structures and Optoelectronic Properties of 2D Hybrid Halide Perovskites

Compared with their 3D counterparts, 2D hybrid organic-inorganic halide perovskites (HOIPs) exhibit enhanced chemical stabilities and superior optoelectronic properties, which can be further tuned by the application of external pressure. Here, we report the first high-pressure study on CMA₂PbI₄ (CMA = cylcohexanemethylammonium), a 2D HOIP with a soft organic spacer cation containing a flexible cyclohexyl ring, using UV-visible absorption, photoluminescence (PL) and vibrational spectroscopy, and synchrotron X-ray microdiffraction, all aided with density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Substantial anisotropic compression behavior is observed, as characterized by unprecedented negative linear compressibility along the b axis. Moreover, the pressure dependence of optoelectronic properties is found to be in strong contrast with those of 2D HOIPs with rigid spacer cations. DFT calculations help to understand the compression mechanisms that lead to pressure-induced bandgap narrowing. These findings highlight the important role of soft spacer cations in the pressure-tuned optoelectronic properties and provide guidance to the design of new 2D HOIPs.

Hot-Casting and Anti-solvent Free Fabrication of Efficient and Stable Two-Dimensional Ruddlesden-Popper Perovskite Solar Cells

Owing to the durable environmental stability and tunable photophysical properties of the two-dimensional Ruddlesden-Popper (2D RP) perovskite, it has a great potential in stable perovskite solar cells (pero-SCs). However, almost efficient 2D RP pero-SCs are prepared by the hot-casting or anti-solvent assisted spin-coating method, which greatly limits their applications. Herein, a multifunctional strategy through introducing a novel organic salt, benzimidazolium iodide (BnI), as a spacer and KI as an additive is reported to successfully fabricate a high-quality Bn-based 2D RP perovskite film in the hot-casting and anti-solvent free spin-coating method. The entire conjugated backbone of benzimidazolium is expected to enhance charge carrier transport within the 2D RP perovskite film. And KI can lead to a preferred orientation and less defects in the 2D RP perovskite film. Then, a maximum power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 15.12% is obtained, which is the highest performance for 2D RP perovskite devices without the hot-casting or anti-solvent method. The unsealed device maintains 92.1% of its original performance when kept in air (40-45% relative humidity) for 720 h and 87.9% of the initial performance after 528 h of heating at 85 °C.

Enhanced photovoltage and stability of perovskite photovoltaics enabled by a cyclohexylmethylammonium iodide-based 2D perovskite passivation layer

Regardless of the impressive progress that perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have achieved, especially considering their power conversion efficiency (PCE) over 25%, traditional PSCs still contend with an inherent instability with exposure to humidity, which remains as a critical issue for the realization of commercial production. Herein, we proposed an effective pathway to relieve the instability of PSCs without sacrificing efficiency by introducing a 2D phase at the surface of the 3D perovskite film, based on a novel organic cyclohexylmethylammonium iodide (CMAI). The self-assembled thin 2D capping layer atop the 3D perovskite layer can not only reduce the ionic defects, but also serve as a protective barrier against moisture. Consequently, the champion device incorporating 2D perovskite capping layers delivered an open-circuit voltage (V_oc) of 1.19 V, which contributes to an impressive PCE of 22.06% on account of the improved charge extraction and decreased non-radiative recombination. More importantly, an excellent long-term stability along with mitigated hysteresis was observed for the modified devices as a result of the suppressed ion migration and high humidity resistance of the 2D perovskite film. Our finding provides a comprehensive approach for simultaneously enhancing the efficiency and stability of PSCs through dimension engineering utilizing CMA-based 2D perovskite materials.

Molecular Design and Operational Stability: Toward Stable 3D/2D Perovskite Interlayers

Despite organic/inorganic lead halide perovskite solar cells becoming one of the most promising next-generation photovoltaic materials, instability under heat and light soaking remains unsolved. In this work, a highly hydrophobic cation, perfluorobenzylammonium iodide (5FBzAI), is designed and a 2D perovskite with reinforced intermolecular interactions is engineered, providing improved passivation at the interface that reduces charge recombination and enhances cell stability compared with benchmark 2D systems. Motivated by the strong halogen bond interaction, (5FBzAI)2PbI4 used as a capping layer aligns in in-plane crystal orientation, inducing a reproducible increase of ≈60 mV in the V oc, a twofold improvement compared with its analogous monofluorinated phenylethylammonium iodide (PEAI) recently reported. This endows the system with high power conversion efficiency of 21.65% and extended operational stability after 1100 h of continuous illumination, outlining directions for future work.

Fine Multi-Phase Alignments in 2D Perovskite Solar Cells with Efficiency over 17% via Slow Post-Annealing

Layered Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) phase (2D) halide perovskites have attracted tremendous attention due to the wide tunability on their optoelectronic properties and excellent robustness in photovoltaic devices. However, charge extraction/transport and ultimate power conversion efficiency (PCE) in 2D perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are still limited by the non-eliminable quantum well effect. Here, a slow post-annealing (SPA) process is proposed for BA₂ MA₃ Pb₄ I₁₃ (n = 4) 2D PSCs by which a champion PCE of 17.26% is achieved with simultaneously enhanced open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current, and fill factor. Investigation with optical spectroscopy coupled with structural analyses indicates that enhanced crystal orientation and favorable alignment on the multiple perovskite phases (from the 2D phase near bottom to quasi-3D phase near top regions) is obtained with SPA treatment, which promotes carrier transport/extraction and suppresses Shockley-Read-Hall charge recombination in the solar cell. As far as it is known, the reported PCE is so far the highest efficiency in RP phase 2D PSCs based on butylamine (BA) spacers (n = 4). The SPA-processed devices exhibit a satisfactory stability with <4.5% degradation after 2000 h under N₂ environment without encapsulation. The demonstrated process strategy offers a promising route to push forward the performance in 2D PSCs toward realistic photovoltaic applications.

Attaining High Photovoltaic Efficiency and Stability with Multidimensional Perovskites

The power conversion efficiency of organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells has soared over the past ten years and currently rivals those of crystalline silicon and other thin-film solar cells. Most of the research effort so far has been focused on three-dimensional (3 D) perovskite crystals, producing devices with very high efficiency but poor operational and environmental stability. Two-dimensional (2 D) Ruddlesden-Popper perovskite has recently shown its potential as a highly stable light absorber, albeit with low efficiency. This work reviews the current progress in attaining both high efficiency and stability in solar cells by using 2 D perovskite. In particular, the focus is on multidimensional perovskite as a way to combine the best characteristics of 3 D and 2 D perovskites. Future challenges and potential methods to boost the performance of multidimensional perovskite solar cells further are briefly presented.

Phase Engineering in Quasi-2D Ruddlesden-Popper Perovskites

Quasi-2D Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) halide perovskites have drawn intensive research interest because they possess superior ambient stability while retaining excellent device performance as compared to their pure 2D or 3D counterparts. By phase engineering strategy, quasi-2D perovskites can fall into three types-large- n 2D perovskite, 2D:3D mixed perovskite, and 3D/2D bilayer perovskite. This Perspective discusses the modulation of phase composition, hierarchical distribution, and crystal orientation in quasi-2D perovskites, aiming to uncover the correlation between morphological structure, band alignment, and charge recombination. A perspective of phase engineering in 2D RP-type perovskite materials is then given toward the concurrent stability and device efficiency.