Ink engineering using 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone solvent for efficient inkjet-printed triple-cationic perovskite solar cells
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Highlights
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Perovskite films were fabricated using a scalable inkjet printing (IJP) technique.
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1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone (DMI) high boiling solvent used in perovskite ink.
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DMI-based IJP perovskite has a uniform, smoother film with large grains surface.
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IJP perovskite has a more suitable energy band alignment with SnO2 and Spiro-OMeTAD.
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The champion device achieved a PCE of ∼ 17.5 % and module PCE of ∼ 11.4 % (A = 12.3 cm2).
Abstract
Ink engineering increases the quality and uniformity of large-scale perovskite films for efficient inkjet-printed perovskite solar cells (IJP-PSCs). The absorber layer in PSCs must be pinhole- and crack-free, highly uniform, with minimum defects, and have better optoelectronic properties, to improve PSC device performance. Herein, a different strategy, such as solvents with high boiling points (BPs), is used to modify the perovskite inks to obtain uniform and better-quality IJP-perovskite films. The perovskite film prepared with a 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone (DMI) solvent is highly uniform (>96 %), thicker, with a smoother surface, and contains bigger grains than γ-butyrolactone (GBL) based IJP-perovskites. The DMI solvent-based IJP-PSC device shows a greater than 17.5 % power conversion efficiency (PCE), which is much higher than that possible with GBL-based devices (PCE ∼13.8 %). The better performance of the IJP-PSC device is mainly due to the film’s uniformity, large grains, and well-formed structures, which reduce the occurrence of specific chemical reactions within the perovskite material. The presented ink engineering strategy to develop highly uniform IJP perovskite films has the potential to be applied to perovskite solar modules.
Graphical abstract
A high boiling point solvent is used to engineer the perovskite ink for efficient, stable inkjet-printed perovskite solar cell (IJP-PSC) devices. The 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone (DMI) solvent-based ink exhibited a highly uniform and smoother film, creating larger grains that resulted in efficient charge transfer to electron or hole transport layers. The DMI solvent-based IJP-PSC device showed an impressive power conversion efficiency of 17.50%, with better stability proving its potential for the scalable fabrication of inkjet-printed PSCs.
