Graphdiyne: A Brilliant Hole Accumulator for Stable and Efficient Planar Perovskite Solar Cells

Small. 2020 Apr;16(13):e1907290. doi: 10.1002/smll.201907290. Epub 2020 Feb 27.

Abstract

Traditional carbon materials have demonstrated immense potential in perovskite solar cells (PSCs) owing to their superior electrical properties and environmental stability. Graphdiyne (GDY), as an emerging carbon allotrope, features uniformly distributed pores, endless design flexibility, and unique electronic character compared with traditional carbon materials. Herein, graphdiyne is introduced into the upper part of the perovskite (CH3 NH3 PbI3 ) layer by utilizing a GDY-containing antisolvent during the one-step synthesis of perovskite. Intriguingly, GDY plays an essential role in hole accumulation and transportation because of its higher Fermi level than perovskite. As a result, the automatic separation of photogenerated carriers inside the perovskite film is achieved. Furthermore, the Schottky barrier formed on the interface between perovskite and GDY guarantees the unidirectional hole transport from perovskite to GDY, thereby benefiting further extraction to the hole transport layer. Consequently, GDY-modified perovskite-based planar PSCs exhibit a boosted Jsc of 24.21 mA cm-2 and up to 19.6% power conversion efficiency owing to the increased efficient light utilization and charge extraction. The device with GDY modification exhibits less than 10% shrinkage after a month in ambience. Overall, this work demonstrates an easy method for the utilization of GDY to boost the charge extraction and environmental stability in PSCs.

Keywords: graphdiyne; hole accumulation; perovskite solar cells; unidirectional hole transport.