Molecular and Process Engineering for Mechanically Durable Flexible Perovskite Solar Cells

Jia-You Ho^a, Chang-Le Liu^b, Hou-Chin Cha^c^,^d, Shih-Han Huang^c^,^d, He-Tai Huang^e, Chih-Chien Lee^b, Shun-Wei Liu^c^,^d, Yu-Ching Huang^c^,^f

^aDepartment of Electro-Optical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 106335, Taiwan

^bDepartment of Electronic Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 106335, Taiwan

^cOrganic Electronics Research Center, Ming Chi University of Technology, New Taipei City, 243303, Taiwan

^dCollege of Engineering, Ming Chi University of Technology, New Taipei City, 243303, Taiwan

^eBachelor Program in Semiconductor Materials and Fabrication, Ming Chi University of Technology , New Taipei City, 243303, Taiwan

^fDepartment of Materials Engineering, Ming Chi University of Technology, New Taipei City, 243303, Taiwan

Asia-Pacific International Conference on Perovskite, Organic Photovoltaics and Optoelectronics
Proceedings of Asia-Pacific International Conference on Perovskite, Organic Photovoltaics and Optoelectronics (IPEROP27)

Fukuoka, Japan, 2027 January 18th - 20th

Organizers: Zhanglin Guo and Tingli Ma

Oral, Jia-You Ho, presentation 027
Publication date: 22nd October 2026

Flexible perovskite solar cells (F-PSCs) are promising for lightweight and conformable photovoltaic applications owing to their high power-to-weight ratio and mechanical flexibility[1]. However, repeated mechanical deformation can induce strain accumulation, structural defects, and crack formation in the perovskite layer, leading to progressive performance degradation. Developing mechanically compliant perovskite films while maintaining high photovoltaic performance is therefore essential for practical flexible devices.

Here, we combine molecular modification with flash-evaporation-assisted sequential deposition to regulate the mechanical properties and film formation of large-area flexible perovskite solar cells. 4-Hydroxybenzoic acid (4-HBA) is incorporated into the perovskite precursor[2], resulting in a reduced Young’s modulus and improved mechanical compliance of the perovskite film while suppressing defect states. In parallel, flash evaporation is introduced to replace conventional thermal annealing during the inorganic precursor deposition. As shown in Fig. 1, flash evaporation produces a more compact and uniform film morphology with fewer pinholes and enlarged grains, accompanied by improved photovoltaic performance. The corresponding grain-size distributions further demonstrate the morphological evolution induced by the rapid evaporation process.

With the combined optimization of material properties and film formation, the power conversion efficiency of the large-area flexible devices increases from 12.88% to 15.69%, accompanied by an increase in open-circuit voltage from 0.93 to 1.03 V. More importantly, the optimized devices retain 85% of their initial efficiency after 8,000 bending cycles at a bending radius of 10 mm. Even under dynamic bending at 80% relative humidity, the devices maintain 75% of their initial performance. These results demonstrate that combining molecular modification with controlled film formation is an effective approach to achieving efficient and mechanically durable flexible perovskite solar cells.

References:

[1] Liu, J.; Ye, T.; Yu, D.; Liu, S.; Yang, D. Recoverable Flexible Perovskite Solar Cells for Next-Generation Portable Power Sources. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2023, 62, e202307225.

[2] Yang, Y.; Yang, N.; Zhang, C.; Li, S.; Hao, Y.; Sun, Q.; Chen, Z.; Liu, S.; Guo, F.; Lu, J.; Hao, Y. In Situ Polymerization Controlled Growth of Perovskite via Benzoic Acid Crosslinking Agent for Highly Efficient and Mechanically Robust Flexible Perovskite Solar Cell. Adv. Sci. 2025, 12, e08253.

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