Multimodal host-guest complexation for efficient and stable perovskite photovoltaics

Formamidinium lead iodide perovskites are promising light-harvesting materials, yet stabilizing them under operating conditions without compromising optimal optoelectronic properties remains challenging. We report a multimodal host-guest complexation strategy to overcome this challenge using a crown ether, dibenzo-21-crown-7, which acts as a vehicle that assembles at the interface and delivers Cs+ ions into the interior while modulating the material. This provides a local gradient of doping at the nanoscale that assists in photoinduced charge separation while passivating surface and bulk defects, stabilizing the perovskite phase through a synergistic effect of the host, guest, and host-guest complex. The resulting solar cells show power conversion efficiencies exceeding 24% and enhanced operational stability, maintaining over 95% of their performance without encapsulation for 500h under continuous operation. Moreover, the host contributes to binding lead ions, reducing their environmental impact. This supramolecular strategy illustrates the broad implications of host-guest chemistry in photovoltaics. It remains a challenge to achieve a balance between performance and stability, as well as addressing the environmental impact of perovskite solar cells. Here, the authors propose a multimodal host-guest complexation strategy enabling these shortcomings to be addressed simultaneously.