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Aspartate all-in-one doping strategy enables efficient all-perovskite tandems

Nature volume 624, pages 69–73 (2023)Cite this article

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Abstract

All-perovskite tandem solar cells hold great promise in surpassing the Shockley–Queisser limit for single-junction solar cells1,2,3. However, the practical use of these cells is currently hampered by the subpar performance and stability issues associated with mixed tin–lead (Sn–Pb) narrow-bandgap perovskite subcells in all-perovskite tandems4,5,6,7. In this study, we focus on the narrow-bandgap subcells and develop an all-in-one doping strategy for them. We introduce aspartate hydrochloride (AspCl) into both the bottom poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene)–poly(styrene sulfonate) and bulk perovskite layers, followed by another AspCl posttreatment. We show that a single AspCl additive can effectively passivate defects, reduce Sn4+ impurities and shift the Fermi energy level. Additionally, the strong molecular bonding of AspCl–Sn/Pb iodide and AspCl–AspCl can strengthen the structure and thereby improve the stability of Sn–Pb perovskites. Ultimately, the implementation of AspCl doping in Sn–Pb perovskite solar cells yielded power conversion efficiencies of 22.46% for single-junction cells and 27.84% (27.62% stabilized and 27.34% certified) for tandems with 95% retention after being stored in an N2-filled glovebox for 2,000 h. These results suggest that all-in-one AspCl doping is a favourable strategy for enhancing the efficiency and stability of single-junction Sn–Pb perovskite solar cells and their tandems.

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Fig. 1: Preparation and mechanism of AspCl in NBG Sn–Pb perovskites.
Fig. 2: Characterization of NBG Sn–Pb perovskite films.
Fig. 3: Performance of single-junction NBG Sn–Pb PSCs.
Fig. 4: Performance of 2T all-perovskite tandem solar cells.

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Data availability

All data are available in the main text or supplementary materials. The data and code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding authors on request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Key Lab of Artificial Micro- and Nanostructures of Ministry of Education of China, Wuhan University. We thank the Core Facility of Wuhan University for SEM, ToF-SIMS and XPS measurements. We also acknowledge the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Numbers: 12174290, 12134010) and the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province, China (Grant Number: 2021CFB039).

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Shun Zhou, Shiqiang Fu, Chen Wang

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Lab of Artificial Micro- and Nano-Structures of Ministry of Education, School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China

    Shun Zhou, Shiqiang Fu, Chen Wang, Weiwei Meng, Jin Zhou, Yuanrong Zou, Qingxian Lin, Lishuai Huang, Wenjun Zhang, Guojun Zeng, Dexin Pu, Hongling Guan, Cheng Wang, Kailian Dong, Hongsen Cui, Shuxin Wang, Ti Wang, Guojia Fang & Weijun Ke

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  1. Shun Zhou
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Contributions

S.Z. and W.K. conceived the idea and designed the experiments. S.Z., S.F. and Chen W. developed tandem solar cells. W.M. performed DFT calculation and theoretical analysis. J.Z. conducted SCLC measurements. Y.Z. performed EIS characterization and analysis. D.P. characterized the surface and cross-section morphology of perovskite films and devices. Q.L. participated in the optimization of single-junction NBG and tandem solar cells. Cheng W. and T.W. conducted photoluminescence and transient absorption measurements and analysis. L.H. conducted XPS measurements and analysis. H.G. conducted ToF-SIMS and KPFM measurements and their analysis. W.Z. conducted the long-term device stability measurements and analysis. G.Z. conducted tandem EQE measurements. K.D. and H.C. conducted XRD measurements and their analysis. S.W. conducted UPS and absorption measurements. S.Z. and W.K. wrote the first draft of the manuscript. All authors discussed the results and contributed to the revisions of the manuscript. G.F. and W.K. supervised the project.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Guojia Fang or Weijun Ke.

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Zhou, S., Fu, S., Wang, C. et al. Aspartate all-in-one doping strategy enables efficient all-perovskite tandems. Nature 624, 69–73 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06707-z

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