Electroactive Interlayers for Inverted Perovskite Solar Cells

Ghewa AlSabeh^a^,^b, Konstantina-Kalliopi Armadorou^a, Andrea Vezzosi^c, Murad Najafov^b, Paul Zimmermann^d, Ursula Röthlisberger^c, Lukas Pfeifer^a, Felix T. Eickemeyer^a, Michael Grätzel^a, Jovana V. Milić^a^,^b

^aLaboratory of Photonics and Interfaces, Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland

^bSmart Energy Materials, Adolphe Merkle Institute, University of Fribourg, Fribourg 1700, Switzerland

^cLaboratory of Computational Chemistry and Biochemistry, Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland

^dInstitut für Angewandte Physik, Universität Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany

Proceedings of International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics (HOPV25)

Roma, Italy, 2025 May 12th - 14th

Organizers: Filippo De Angelis, Francesca Brunetti and Claudia Barolo

Poster, Ghewa AlSabeh, 266
Publication date: 17th February 2025

Perovskite solar cells have attracted substantial attention due to their promising efficiency, but their operational stability, particularly at the interfaces with charge transport layers, remains a key limitation. This issue is especially critical in inverted (p-i-n) architectures, where fullerene-based electron transport layers often compromise long-term device stability. In response, the use of low-dimensional perovskite interlayers with hydrophobic organic spacers was explored to improve stability by templating the perovskite structure.^[1] However, conventional organic cations used in these interlayers are typically electronically inert, which hampers charge extraction and reduces overall device efficiency. In this work, we introduce low-dimensional perovskites incorporating electroactive napthalimide- and napthalenediimide-based spacers.^[2,3] These functional organic moieties also enable modification or replacement of the fullerene-based electron transport layers, producing passivated interfaces that support efficient charge transport. This strategy led to improved photovoltaic performance, achieving power conversion efficiencies exceeding 20% along with enhanced device stability, underlining the value of electroactive interlayers in optimizing inverted perovskite solar cells.

References

[1] J. V. Milić, J. Mat. Chem. C 2021, 9, 11428–11443

[2] A. Mishra, P. Ahlawat, G. C. Fish, F. Jahanbakhshi, M. Mladenović, M. Almalki, M. A. Ruiz-Preciado, M. C. Gelvéz-Rueda, D. J. Kubicki, P. A. Schouwink, V. Dufoulon, T. Schneeberger, A. Aslanzadeh, F. C. Grozema, S. M. Zakeeruddin, J.-E. Moser, U. Rothlisberger, L. Emsley, J. V. Milić and M. Grätzel, Chem. Mater., 2021, 33, 6412–6420.

[3] K.K. Armadorou, Ghewa AlSabeh, A. Vezzosi, M. Najafov, P. Zimmermann, U. Röthlisberger, L. Pfeifer, F. T. Eickemeyer, J. V. Milić, M. Grätzel et al., Manuscript under review, J. Mater. Chem. C, 2025.

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