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The poor stability of perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) is a key bottleneck that hinders commercialization of this technology. Here, the degradation process of formamidinium lead iodide (FAPbI3)-based PeLEDs is carefully investigated and the device stability is improved through binary-alkalication incorporation. Using time-of-flight secondary-ion mass spectrometry, it is found that the degradation of FAPbI3-based PeLEDs during operation is directly associated with ion migration, and incorporation of binary alkali cations, i.e., Cs+ and Rb+, in FAPbI3 can suppress ion migration and significantly enhance the lifetime of PeLEDs. Combining experimental and theoretical approaches, it is further revealed that Cs+ and Rb+ ions stabilize the perovskite films by locating at different lattice positions, with Cs+ ions present relatively uniformly throughout the bulk perovskite, while Rb+ ions are found preferentially on the surface and grain boundaries. Further chemical bonding analysis shows that both Cs+ and Rb+ ions raise the net atomic charge of the surrounding I anions, leading to stronger Coulomb interactions between the cations and the inorganic framework. As a result, the Cs+–Rb+-incorporated PeLEDs exhibit an external quantum efficiency of 15.84%, the highest among alkali cation-incorporated FAPbI3 devices. More importantly, the PeLEDs show significantly enhanced operation stability, achieving a half-lifetime over 3600 min.

Electron transport layer (ETL) is a functional layer of great significance for boosting the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). To date, it is still a challenge to simultaneously reduce the surface defects and improve the crystallinity in ETLs during their low-temperature processing. Here, a novel strategy for the mediation of in situ regrowth of SnO2 nanocrystal ETLs is reported: introduction of controlled trace amounts of surface absorbed water on the fluorinated tin oxide (FTO) or indium–tin oxide (ITO) surfaces of the substrates using ultraviolet ozone (UVO) pretreatment. The optimum amount of adsorbed water plays a key role in balancing the hydrolysis–condensation reactions during the structural evolution of SnO2 thin films. This new approach results in a full-coverage SnO2 ETL with a desirable morphology and crystallinity for superior optical and electrical properties, as compared to the control SnO2 ETL without the UVO pretreatment. Finally, the rigid and flexible PSC devices based on the new SnO2 ETLs yield high PCEs of up to 20.5% and 17.5%, respectively. © 2019 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

Recently, the stability of organic-inorganic perovskite thin films under thermal, photo, and moisture stresses has become a major concern for further commercialization due to the high volatility of the organic cations in the prototype perovskite composition (CH3NH3PbI3). All inorganic cesium (Cs) based perovskite is an alternative to avoid the release or decomposition of organic cations. Moreover, substituting Pb with Sn in the organic-inorganic lead halide perovskites has been demonstrated to narrow the bandgap to 1.2-1.4 eV for high-performance perovskite solar cells. In this work, a series of CsPb1-xSnxIBr2 perovskite alloys via one-step antisolvent method is demonstrated. These perovskite films present tunable bandgaps from 2.04 to 1.64 eV. Consequently, the CsPb0.75Sn0.25IBr2 with homogeneous and densely crystallized morphology shows a remarkable power conversion efficiency of 11.53% and a high V-oc of 1.21 V with a much improved phase stability and illumination stability. This work provides a possibility for designing and synthesizing novel inorganic halide perovskites as the next generation of photovoltaic materials.

Biaxially-extended octithiophene-based conjugated polymers are demonstrated as effective polymeric hole-transporting layers (HTLs) to simultaneously enhance the efficiency and UV-photostability of perovskite solar cells (PVSCs). The intense UV absorption contributed from the conjugated side-chain groups of such polymers facilitated its function of UV filtering when serving as the bottom HTL in PVSCs. Through rationally tailoring polymer backbone structure, a highly efficient (PCE: 18.34%) PVSC with much improved UV-photostability and ambient stability was successfully achieved.