Antioxidant grain passivation for air-stable tin-based perovskite solar cells

Abstract

Tin-based perovskites with excellent optoelectronic properties and suitable band gaps are promising candidates for the preparation of efficient lead-free perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, it is challenging to prepare highly stable and efficient tin-based PSCs because Sn 2+ in perovskites can be easily oxidized to Sn 4+ upon air exposure. Here we report the fabrication of air-stable FASnI 3 solar cells by introducing hydroxybenzene sulfonic acid or its salt as an antioxidant additive into the perovskite precursor solution along with excess SnCl 2 . The interaction between the sulfonate group and the Sn 2+ ion enables the in situ encapsulation of the perovskite grains with a SnCl 2 –additive complex layer, which results in greatly enhanced oxidation stability of the perovskite film. The corresponding PSCs are able to maintain 80 % of the efficiency over 500 h upon air exposure without encapsulation, which is over ten times longer than the best result reported previously. Our results suggest a possible strategy for the future design of efficient and stable tin-based PSCs.