C <sub>60</sub> -based ionic salt electron shuttle for high-performance inverted perovskite solar modules

Although buckminsterfullerene (C<sub>60</sub>) is usually the electron transport layer (ETL) in inverted perovskite solar cells (PSCs), its molecular nature leads to weak interfaces that result in nonideal interfacial electronic and mechanical degradation. In this study, we synthesized an ionic salt from C<sub>60</sub>, 4-(1',5'-dihydro-1'-methyl-2'<i>H</i>-[5,6] fullereno-C<sub>60</sub>-<i>I<sub>h</sub></i>-[1,9-c]pyrrol-2'-yl) phenylmethanaminium chloride (CPMAC), and used it as the electron shuttle in inverted PSCs. The CH<sub>2</sub>-NH<sub>3</sub><sup>+</sup> head group in the CPMA cation improved the ETL interface, and the ionic nature enhanced the packing, leading to a ~threefold increase in the interfacial toughness compared with that of C<sub>60</sub>. Using CPMAC, we obtained ~26% power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) with ~2% degradation after 2100 hours of 1-sun operation at 65°C. For minimodules (four subcells, 6 square centimeters), we achieved a PCE of ~23% with <9% degradation after 2200 hours of operation at 55°C.

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Publication Details

Journal
Science
Published
2025-04-17
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adv4701
Citations
55
Primary Topic
Perovskite Materials and Applications
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
40.17
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article

C 60 -based ionic salt electron shuttle for high-performance inverted perovskite solar modules

Zhongjin Shen, Jianxun Lu, Osman M. Bakr, Shuai You et al.
55 citations
Science
Perovskite Materials and Applications
40.17
article

C 60 -based ionic salt electron shuttle for high-performance inverted perovskite solar modules

Zhongjin Shen, Jianxun Lu, Osman M. Bakr, Shuai You, Joseph J. Berry, Benjia Dou, Qingxiao Wang, Marina Freitag, Bingyao Shao, Hongwei Zhu, Nicholas Rolston, Adam Lorenz, Yifan Dong, Kai Zhu, Erin M. Sanehira, Youyou Yuan, Matthew C. Beard, Yanfa Yan, Marco Casareto, Lei Chen, Xiaoming Wang, T. W. F. Russell
article en
55 citations

Abstract

Although buckminsterfullerene (C<sub>60</sub>) is usually the electron transport layer (ETL) in inverted perovskite solar cells (PSCs), its molecular nature leads to weak interfaces that result in nonideal interfacial electronic and mechanical degradation. In this study, we synthesized an ionic salt from C<sub>60</sub>, 4-(1',5'-dihydro-1'-methyl-2'<i>H</i>-[5,6] fullereno-C<sub>60</sub>-<i>I<sub>h</sub></i>-[1,9-c]pyrrol-2'-yl) phenylmethanaminium chloride (CPMAC), and used it as the electron shuttle in inverted PSCs. The CH<sub>2</sub>-NH<sub>3</sub><sup>+</sup> head group in the CPMA cation improved the ETL interface, and the ionic nature enhanced the packing, leading to a ~threefold increase in the interfacial toughness compared with that of C<sub>60</sub>. Using CPMAC, we obtained ~26% power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) with ~2% degradation after 2100 hours of 1-sun operation at 65°C. For minimodules (four subcells, 6 square centimeters), we achieved a PCE of ~23% with <9% degradation after 2200 hours of operation at 55°C.

ScienceVol. 388(6750)
National Laboratory of the Rockies (US), University of Colorado Boulder (US), Bedford Research Foundation (US), Arizona State University (US), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (SA), Newcastle University (GB), University of Toledo (US)
Affordable and clean energy
Openalex Percentile: Top 0%
Perovskite Materials and Applications
40.17
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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