Printing High-Efficiency Perovskite Solar Cells in High-Humidity Ambient Environment—An In Situ Guided Investigation

Abstract

Extensive studies are conducted on perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with significant performance advances (mainly spin coating techniques), which have encouraged recent efforts on scalable coating techniques for the manufacture of PSCs. However, devices fabricated by blade coating techniques are inferior to state-of-the-art spin-coated devices because the power conversion efficiency (PCE) is highly dependent on the morphology and crystallization kinetics in the controlled environment and the delicate solvent system engineering. In this study, based on the widely studied perovskite solution system dimethylformamide–dimethyl sulfoxide, air-knife-assisted ambient fabrication of PSCs at a high relative humidity of 55 ± 5% is reported. In-depth time-resolved UV–vis spectrometry is carried out to investigate the impact of solvent removal and crystallization rate, which are critical factors influencing the crystallization kinetics and morphology because of adventitious moisture. UV–vis spectrometry enables accurate determination of the thickness of the wet precursor film. Anti-solvent-free, high-humidity ambient coatings of hysteresis-free PSCs with PCEs of 21.1% and 18.0% are demonstrated for 0.06 and 1 cm2 devices, respectively. These PSCs exhibit comparable stability to those fabricated in a glovebox, thus demonstrating their high potential.