Molecular Self-Assembly Regulated Dopant-Free Hole Transport Materials for Efficient and Stable n-i-p Perovskite Solar Cells and Scalable Modules

Dopant-free organic hole transport materials (HTMs) remain highly desirable for stable and efficient n-i-p perovskite solar cells (pero-SCs) but rarely succeed. Here, we propose a molecular assembly strategy to overcome the limited optoelectronic properties of organic HTMs by precisely designing a linear organic small molecule BDT-DPA-F from the atomic to the molecular levels. BDT-DPA-F can assemble into a fibril network, showing an obviously improved hole mobility and decreased energy disorder. The resultant pero-SCs showed a promising efficiency of 23.12 % (certified 22.48 %), which is the highest certified value of pero-SCs with dopant-free HTMs, to date. These devices also showed a weak-dependence of efficiency on size, enabling a state-of-the-art efficiency of 22.50 % for 1-cm(2) device and 20.17 % for 15.64-cm(2) module. For the first time, the pero-SCs based on dopant-free HTMs realized ultralong stabilities with T-80 lifetimes over 1200 h under operation or thermal aging at 85 degrees C.

Automated summary

Researchers propose a molecular assembly strategy to improve the optoelectronic properties of organic hole transport materials (HTMs) in perovskite solar cells. The resulting cells show promising efficiency and long-term stability.