Resilient, ultrathin, and high-specific-power flexible quasi-2D perovskite solar cells enable energy-autonomous drones

Photovoltaics play a vital role in the transition to sustainable and green energy sources. However, conventional rigid and bulky solar cells fail to address the needs of emerging applications where mechanical compliance and high specific power are vital. In this regard, hybrid organic-inorganic halide perovskites attract significant interest owing to their outstanding mechanical and optoelectronic properties. In this contribution, we present transparent-conductive-oxide (TCO)-free and lightweight quasi-2D flexible perovskite solar cells incorporating arylamine organic cations with a champion-specific power of up to 44 W g-1 and an efficiency of 20.1%. Freestanding and unencapsulated flexible devices display admirable environmental stability and mechanical resilience. Rigid devices exhibit excellent operational stability, preserving above 97.2% of their performance after 1000 h of continuous operation at the maximum power point. Moreover, to show the feasibility and potential for upscaling, we demonstrated a photovoltaic module that enables energy-autonomous operation of a hybrid solar-powered quadcopter while constituting only 1/400 of the drone’s weight.