Insights into the Role of Vitamin C in Stabilizing Organic and Perovskite Solar Cells

This study provides an in-depth exploration of the mechanisms by which vitamin C enhances interfacial stability in organic solar cells (OSCs) and perovskite solar cells (PSCs). In OSCs, vitamin C interacts with ZnO (O-H···O and C═O···Zn²⁺) and Y6 (O-H···F), forming a robust interface. The ZnO/vitamin C devices maintained 80% of their original efficiency (T₈₀ lifetime) for 4437 h for PM6:Y6 (binary) and 6028 h for PM6:Y6:PC₇₁BM (ternary) at 65 °C in a N₂ atmosphere. Under AM1.5G one-sun illumination in a N₂ atmosphere, the binary devices maintained 85% of their efficiency for 2100 h, while the ternary devices had a <i>T</i>₈₀ lifetime of 1,680 h. In PSCs, vitamin C stabilized the NiO_<i>x</i> (O-H···O, C═O···Ni³⁺) and perovskite layer (C═O···Pb²⁺), achieving a <i>T</i>₈₀ lifetime of 1198 h at 65 °C in a N₂ atmosphere. These results demonstrate that vitamin C, as an interfacial stabilizer, offers a universal strategy to improve the practicality of photovoltaic devices.