The Impact of Backbone Fluorination and Side-Chain Position in Thiophene-Benzothiadiazole-Based Hole-Transport Materials on the Performance and Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells

Marina M Tepliakova; Ilya E Kuznetsov; Aleksandra N Mikheeva; Maxim E Sideltsev; Artyom V Novikov; Aleksandra D Furasova; Roman R Kapaev; Alexey A Piryazev; Artur T Kapasharov; Tatiana A Pugacheva; Sergei V Makarov; Keith J Stevenson; Alexander V Akkuratov

doi:10.3390/ijms232113375

The Impact of Backbone Fluorination and Side-Chain Position in Thiophene-Benzothiadiazole-Based Hole-Transport Materials on the Performance and Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells

Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Nov 2;23(21):13375. doi: 10.3390/ijms232113375.

Authors

Marina M Tepliakova¹, Ilya E Kuznetsov², Aleksandra N Mikheeva¹, Maxim E Sideltsev², Artyom V Novikov¹, Aleksandra D Furasova³, Roman R Kapaev^{1

4

5}, Alexey A Piryazev^{2

6

7}, Artur T Kapasharov², Tatiana A Pugacheva², Sergei V Makarov^{3

8

9}, Keith J Stevenson⁶, Alexander V Akkuratov²

Affiliations

¹ Center for Energy Science and Technology (CEST), Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Nobel St. 3, 143026 Moscow, Russia.
² Federal Research Center of Problems of Chemical Physics and Medicinal Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, FRC PCPMC RAS, Academician Semenov Avenue 1, 142432 Chernogolovka, Russia.
³ School of Physics and Engineering, ITMO University, Kronverksky Pr. 49, 197101 St. Petersburg, Russia.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan 5290002, Israel.
⁵ Bar-Ilan Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Ramat Gan 5290002, Israel.
⁶ Department of Chemistry, Lomonosov Moscow State University, GSP-1, 1 Leninskiye Gory, 119991 Moscow, Russia.
⁷ Sirius University of Science and Technology, Olympic Ave, 1, 354340 Sochi, Russia.
⁸ Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, China.
⁹ Qingdao Innovation and Development Center of Harbin Engineering University, Qingdao 266000, China.

Abstract

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) currently reach high efficiencies, while their insufficient stability remains an obstacle to their technological commercialization. The introduction of hole-transport materials (HTMs) into the device structure is a key approach for enhancing the efficiency and stability of devices. However, currently, the influence of the HTM structure or properties on the characteristics and operational stability of PSCs remains insufficiently studied. Herein, we present four novel push-pull small molecules, H1-4, with alternating thiophene and benzothiadiazole or fluorine-loaded benzothiadiazole units, which contain branched and linear alkyl chains in the different positions of terminal thiophenes to evaluate the impact of HTM structure on PSC performance. It is demonstrated that minor changes in the structure of HTMs significantly influence their behavior in thin films. In particular, H3 organizes into highly ordered lamellar structures in thin films, which proves to be crucial in boosting the efficiency and stability of PSCs. The presented results shed light on the crucial role of the HTM structure and the morphology of films in the performance of PSCs.

Keywords: benzothiadiazole; hole-transport materials; perovskite solar cells; small molecules; stability.

The Impact of Backbone Fluorination and Side-Chain Position in Thiophene-Benzothiadiazole-Based Hole-Transport Materials on the Performance and Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells

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