Search

Reducing nonradiative recombination is crucial for minimizing voltage losses in metal-halide perovskite solar cells and achieving high power conversion efficiencies. Photoluminescence spectroscopy on complete or partial perovskite solar cell stacks is often used to quantify and disentangle bulk and interface contributions to nonradiative losses. Accurately determining the intrinsic loss in a perovskite layer is key to analyzing the origins of nonradiative recombination and developing defect engineering strategies. Here, we study perovskite films on glass and indium-tin-oxide-covered glass substrates, functionalized with a range of different molecules, using absolute and transient photoluminescence. We find that grafting these substrates with 1,6-hexylenediphosphonic acid (HDPA) effectively reduces the nonradiative losses in perovskite films for a series of perovskite semiconductors with bandgaps ranging from 1.26 to 2.28 eV. The results suggest that perovskites processed on HDPA-functionalized substrates suffer the least from nonradiative recombination and thus approach the properties of a defect-free semiconductor.

Multijunction photovoltaics (PVs) are gaining prominence owing to their superior capability of achieving power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) beyond the radiative limit of single-junction cells 1-8 , where improving narrow bandgap tin-lead perovskites is critical for thin-film devices 9 . With a focus on understanding the chemistry of tin-lead perovskite precursor solutions, we herein find that Sn(II) species dominate interactions with precursors and additives and uncover the exclusive role of carboxylic acid in regulating solution colloidal properties and film crystallisation, and ammonium in improving film optoelectronic properties. Materials that combine these two function groups, amino acid salts, considerably improve the semiconducting quality and homogeneity of perovskite films, surpassing the effect of the individual functional groups when introduced as part of separate molecules. Our enhanced tin-lead perovskite layer allows us to fabricate solar cells with PCEs of 23.9, 29.7 (certified 29.26%), and 28.7% for single-, double-, and triple-junction devices, respectively. Our 1-cm 2 triple-junction devices show PCEs of 28.4% (certified 27.28%). Encapsulated triple-junction cells maintain 80% of their initial efficiencies after 860 h maximum power point tracking in ambient. We further fabricate quadruple-junction devices and obtain PCEs of 27.9% with the highest open-circuit voltage of 4.94 V. This work establishes a new benchmark for multijunction PVs., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)

The efficiency of perovskite solar cells is affected by open-circuit voltage losses due to radiative and non-radiative charge recombination. When estimated using sensitive photocurrent measurements that cover the above- and sub-bandgap regions, the radiative open-circuit voltage is often unphysically low. Here we report sensitive photocurrent and electroluminescence spectroscopy to probe radiative recombination at sub-bandgap defects in wide-bandgap mixed-halide lead perovskite solar cells. The radiative ideality factor associated with the optical transitions increases from 1, above and near the bandgap edge, to ~2 at mid-bandgap. Such photon energy-dependent ideality factor corresponds to a many-diode model. The radiative open-circuit voltage limit derived from this many-diode model enables differentiating between radiative and non-radiative voltage losses. The latter are deconvoluted into contributions from the bulk and interfaces via determining the quasi-Fermi level splitting. The experiments show that while sub-bandgap defects do not contribute to radiative voltage loss, they do affect non-radiative voltage losses., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The functionalization of cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) aerogels was achieved through a two-step synthetic procedure. CNC aerogels were prepared under hydrothermal conditions, followed by solvent exchange and critical point drying. The CNC aerogels were functionalized with a methacrylate group and then underwent thiol-ene click chemistry to impart a range of functionalities onto the surface of the CNC aerogel. The use of the functionalized aerogels as oil absorbents was then investigated, with the most hydrophobic CNC aerogel, 1 H,1 H,2 H,2 H-perfluorodecanethiol-functionalized CNC aerogel, exhibiting the highest absorption of xylenes at 2.9 mL g -1 .