Influence of Fermi Level Alignment with Tin Oxide on the Hysteresis of Perovskite Solar Cells.

We tune the Fermi level alignment between the SnO x electron transport layer (ETL) and Cs0.05(FA0.83MA0.17)0.95Pb(I0.83Br0.17)3 and highlight that this parameter is interlinked with current-voltage hysteresis in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Furthermore, thermally stimulated current measurements reveal that the depth of trap states in the ETL or at the ETL-perovskite interface correlates with Fermi level positions, ultimately linking it to the energy difference between the Fermi level and conduction band minimum. In the presence of deep trap states, charge accumulation and recombination at the interface are promoted, affecting the charge collection efficiency adversely, which increases the hysteresis of PSCs.

Directional Charge-Carrier Transport in Oriented Benzodithiophene Covalent Organic Framework Thin Films.

Charge-carrier transport in oriented COF thin films is an important factor for realizing COF-based optoelectronic devices. We describe how highly oriented electron-donating benzodithiophene BDT-COF thin films serve as a model system for a directed charge-transport study. Oriented BDT-COF films were deposited on different electrodes with excellent control over film roughness and topology, allowing for high-quality electrode-COF interfaces suitable for device fabrication. Hole-only devices were constructed to study the columnar hole mobility of the BDT-COF films. The transport measurements reveal a clear dependency of the measured hole mobilities on the BDT-COF film thickness, where thinner films showed about two orders of magnitude higher mobilities than thicker ones. Transport measurements under illumination yielded an order of magnitude higher mobility than in the dark. In-plane electrical conductivity values of up to 5 × 10-7 S cm-1 were obtained for the oriented films. Impedance measurements of the hole-only devices provided further electrical description of the oriented BDT-COF films in terms of capacitance, recombination resistance, and dielectric constant. An exceptionally low dielectric constant value of approximately 1.7 was estimated for the BDT-COF films, a further indication of their highly porous nature. DFT and molecular-dynamics simulations were carried out to gain further insights into the relationships between the COF layer interactions, electronic structure, and the potential device performance.

The Influence of Water Vapor on the Stability and Processing of Hybrid Perovskite Solar Cells Made from Non-Stoichiometric Precursor Mixtures.

We investigated the influence of moisture on methylammonium lead iodide perovskite (MAPbI3 ) films and solar cells derived from non-stoichiometric precursor mixtures. We followed both the structural changes under controlled air humidity through in situ X-ray diffraction, and the electronic behavior of devices prepared from these films. A small PbI2 excess in the films improved the stability of the perovskite compared to stoichiometric samples. We assign this to excess PbI2 layers at the perovskite grain boundaries or to the termination of the perovskite crystals with Pb and I. In contrast, the MAI-excess films composed of smaller perovskite crystals showed increased electronic disorder and reduced device performance owing to poor charge collection. Upon exposure to moisture followed by dehydration (so-called solvent annealing), these films recrystallized to form larger, highly oriented crystals with fewer electronic defects and a remarkable improvement in photocurrent and photovoltaic efficiency.

Recycling Perovskite Solar Cells To Avoid Lead Waste.

Methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3) perovskite based solar cells have recently emerged as a serious competitor for large scale and low-cost photovoltaic technologies. However, since these solar cells contain toxic lead, a sustainable procedure for handling the cells after their operational lifetime is required to prevent exposure of the environment to lead and to comply with international electronic waste disposal regulations. Herein, we report a procedure to remove every layer of the solar cells separately, which gives the possibility to selectively isolate the different materials. Besides isolating the toxic lead iodide in high yield, we show that the PbI2 can be reused for the preparation of new solar cells with comparable performance and in this way avoid lead waste. Furthermore, we show that the most expensive part of the solar cell, the conductive glass (FTO), can be reused several times without any reduction in the performance of the devices. With our simple recycling procedure, we address both the risk of contamination and the waste disposal of perovskite based solar cells while further reducing the cost of the system. This brings perovskite solar cells one step closer to their introduction into commercial systems.

Hybrid Perovskite/Perovskite Heterojunction Solar Cells.

Recently developed organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells combine low-cost fabrication and high power conversion efficiency. Advances in perovskite film optimization have led to an outstanding power conversion efficiency of more than 20%. Looking forward, shifting the focus toward new device architectures holds great potential to induce the next leap in device performance. Here, we demonstrate a perovskite/perovskite heterojunction solar cell. We developed a facile solution-based cation infiltration process to deposit layered perovskite (LPK) structures onto methylammonium lead iodide (MAPI) films. Grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering experiments were performed to gain insights into the crystallite orientation and the formation process of the perovskite bilayer. Our results show that the self-assembly of the LPK layer on top of an intact MAPI layer is accompanied by a reorganization of the perovskite interface. This leads to an enhancement of the open-circuit voltage and power conversion efficiency due to reduced recombination losses, as well as improved moisture stability in the resulting photovoltaic devices.

Enantioselective synthesis of syn- and anti-1,3-aminoalcohols via ß-aminoketones and subsequent reduction/dynamic kinetic asymmetric transformation.

ß-Aminoketones obtained from imines in an organocatalytic Mannich reaction were transformed to enantio- and diastereomerically pure 1,3-aminoalcohols with two stereogenic centers via a combined reduction/dynamic kinetic asymmetric transformation. Both syn and anti diastereomers were obtained in high yield, dr, and ee.