Tetrabutylammonium cations for moisture-resistant and semitransparent perovskite solar cells

Abstract

Perovskite solar cells have gained increasing interest, especially after reaching performances which are comparable with mature silicon PV technologies. However, the perovskite crystalline structure CH₃NH₃PbI₃ is unstable in the presence of moisture, which leads to fast degradation under ambient conditions. The commercialisation of perovskite solar cells will only be achieved with the engineering of long term stable materials. We report a modified perovskite absorber layer obtained by adding methylammonium iodide (MAI) and tetrabutylammonium (TBA) iodide. The incorporation of TBA improves the film coverage, reducing the number of pinholes. X-ray diffraction analysis suggests that, in common with other mixed larger cation perovskites, two distinct phases coexist: a 3D perovskite material and a 2D layered material. The TBA containing perovskite films showed improved hydrophobicity, which contributed to significantly higher moisture stability. The cells maintained their original PCE after 45 days under ambient conditions without encapsulation. In comparison, the CH₃NH₃PbX₃ 3D perovskite device lost more than 60% of its original efficiency over the same time.