High-performance metal-oxide-free perovskite solar cells based on organic electron transport layer and cathode

Abstract We introduced phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) as an electron transport layer to improve the performance of metal-oxide-free perovskite solar cells (PSCs) using high-conductivity poly(3,4-ethylenedioxylenethiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) as the cathode. The work function of the PEDOT:PSS was tuned from −5.08 to −4.05 eV by using polyethylenimine, improving the electron collection. Using PCBM improved the electron transport and suppressed the charge recombination of the PSCs. The power-conversion efficiency (PCE) of the rigid PSCs (on glass substrates) was significantly improved from 12.5% to 13.9%, and the open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current density, and fill factor were improved simultaneously. The long-term stability of the PSCs was also improved: the PCE degradation of the PSCs without encapsulation decreased from 18.4% to 13.0% after 114 h. Using a 37-nm PCBM layer, the flexible PSCs on polyethylene naphthalate substrates exhibited a high PCE of 11.4% with good bendability. Our results indicate that using PCBM as an electron transport layer in metal-oxide-free PSCs is a feasible method for the large-scale roll-to-roll production of PSCs.