2D metal-organic framework for stable perovskite solar cells with minimized lead leakage

Shengfan Wu; Zhen Li; Mu-Qing Li; Yingxue Diao; Francis Lin; Tiantian Liu; Jie Zhang; Peter Tieu; Wenpei Gao; Feng Qi; Xiaoqing Pan; Zhengtao Xu; Zonglong Zhu; Alex K-Y Jen

doi:10.1038/s41565-020-0765-7

2D metal-organic framework for stable perovskite solar cells with minimized lead leakage

Nat Nanotechnol. 2020 Nov;15(11):934-940. doi: 10.1038/s41565-020-0765-7. Epub 2020 Sep 21.

Authors

Shengfan Wu¹, Zhen Li¹, Mu-Qing Li^{1

2}, Yingxue Diao^{1

3}, Francis Lin¹, Tiantian Liu¹, Jie Zhang¹, Peter Tieu⁴, Wenpei Gao⁵, Feng Qi¹, Xiaoqing Pan^{5

6

7}, Zhengtao Xu⁸, Zonglong Zhu⁹, Alex K-Y Jen^{10

11

12}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
² Frontier Institute of Science and Technology (FIST), Xi'an Key Laboratory of Sustainable Energy and Materials Chemistry, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Shanxi, China.
³ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
⁵ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
⁶ Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
⁷ Irvine Materials Research Institute, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
⁸ Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong. zhengtao@cityu.edu.hk.
⁹ Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong. zonglzhu@cityu.edu.hk.
¹⁰ Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong. alexjen@cityu.edu.hk.
¹¹ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong. alexjen@cityu.edu.hk.
¹² Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. alexjen@cityu.edu.hk.

PMID: 32958933
DOI: 10.1038/s41565-020-0765-7

Abstract

Despite the notable progress in perovskite solar cells, maintaining long-term operational stability and minimizing potentially leaked lead (Pb²⁺) ions are two challenges that are yet to be resolved. Here we address these issues using a thiol-functionalized 2D conjugated metal-organic framework as an electron-extraction layer at the perovskite/cathode interface. The resultant devices exhibit high power conversion efficiency (22.02%) along with a substantially improved long-term operational stability. The perovskite solar cell modified with a metal-organic framework could retain more than 90% of its initial efficiency under accelerated testing conditions, that is continuous light irradiation at maximum power point tracking for 1,000 h at 85 °C. More importantly, the functionalized metal-organic framework could capture most of the Pb²⁺ leaked from the degraded perovskite solar cells by forming water-insoluble solids. Therefore, this method that simultaneously tackles the operational stability and lead contamination issues in perovskite solar cells could greatly improve the feasibility of large-scale deployment of perovskite photovoltaic technology.

Grants and funding

9380086, 9610421, 9667168/City University of Hong Kong (CityU)