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PEROVSKITE PHOTOVOLTAICS

Secure the electrodes

Nature Energy volume 7, pages 476–477 (2022)Cite this article

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The instability of the rear electrodes in perovskite solar cells limits the long-term durability of the devices. Now, researchers have developed a composite electrode consisting of Cu–Ni alloy sandwiched between graphene layers to considerably improve the operational stability of perovskite solar cells.

Perovskite solar cells, emerging as a promising photovoltaic technology, have demonstrated impressive power conversion efficiency exceeding 25%1. However, the instability of perovskite devices holds back their progress towards commercialization. Concerted efforts have been devoted to enhancing the stability of perovskite solar cells by improving the perovskite layers, transporting layers and the interfaces between them, but the instability of the rear electrodes remains a substantial hurdle2,3. Rear electrodes of perovskite solar cells largely rely on metals that have shown reactivity with the halogen or halide species present in perovskite layers4,5,6. Besides, some metals such as commonly used Ag can readily diffuse into the perovskite layer or even throughout the device, leading to rapid degradation of the entire solar cell7. In light of these critical concerns, alternative materials that are inherently robust, such as carbon, have been investigated. However, it is still a challenge to achieve high power conversion efficiencies with these alternative electrodes due to potential losses at the contact8.

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Fig. 1: Stabilizing mechanisms of composite electrodes in perovskite solar cells.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

    Jingjing Xue

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  1. Jingjing Xue
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Correspondence to Jingjing Xue.

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The author declares no competing interests.

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Xue, J. Secure the electrodes. Nat Energy 7, 476–477 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-022-01040-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-022-01040-7

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