Robot-Assisted Study of a Near-Infrared Dye in Perovskite Solar Cells

The investigation of dyes in perovskite solar cells (PSCs) is an emerging field, since dyes may introduce a range of effects beyond conventional light harvesting. However, the large number of possible materials and processing combinations make systematic investigation challenging. This study presents a hybrid and transferable strategy combining automated workflows and supporting manual evaluation to gain insights into the effects of dyes in PSCs. Using a near-infrared (NIR) dye and a typical lead halide perovskite, an automated synthesis-characterization workflow is demonstrated to be suitable for the evaluation of the effects of a dye either as a precursor additive or as a post-treatment material using photoluminescence as the key performance parameter. In addition, the automated synthesis-device fabrication-evaluation workflow can provide guidance for identifying a suitable concentration range of dye additives in precursor solutions. Computational results at density-functional theory (DFT) level and manually performed experiments suggest that the dye MK245 interacts with the perovskite and modifies its local or interfacial electronic environment. Integration of MK245 can significantly improve the device stability both in mesoscopic triple-layer perovskite solar cells and in conventional thin-film solar cells.