Multifunctional Borate Additive Enables Defect Passivation and Crystallization Control Toward High‐Performance n‐i‐p Perovskite Solar Cells

ABSTRACT Metal halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) represent one of the most promising next‐generation photovoltaic technologies, owing to their exceptional optical absorption coefficient, tunable bandgap, long carrier diffusion length and low‐cost solution processability. However, the performance of PSCs remains constrained by the crystalline quality and high defect density of perovskite thin films. Herein, we report a multifunctional molecular additive, potassium [(tert‐butoxycarbonylamino) methyl] trifluoroborate (denoted as ER). Theoretical calculations and experimental characterizations reveal that the hydroxyl groups generated via ‐BF 3 − hydrolysis and carbonyl oxygen atoms in ER strongly coordinate with undercoordinated Pb 2+ ions. Meanwhile, the tert‐butoxycarbonylamino (‐NH‐Boc) group effectively suppresses iodide migration by anchoring I − through hydrogen bonding. Notably, ER molecules can capture ambient moisture, converting humidity from a detrimental environmental factor into “chemical fuel” that drives in situ defect passivation through a self‐catalyzed molecular transformation process. As a result, the optimized n‐i‐p structured PSCs with ER achieve a champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 25.63%. Moreover, the unencapsulated device maintains 93.84% of its initial PCE after for 1778 h of aging under ISOS‐D‐1 conditions. This work provides an effective strategy for synergistically regulating perovskite crystallization and defect passivation via molecular engineering, thereby promoting the development of high‐performance and long‐term stable PSCs.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Functional Materials
Published
2026-10-30
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.79278
Primary Topic
Perovskite Materials and Applications
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Multifunctional Borate Additive Enables Defect Passivation and Crystallization Control Toward High‐Performance n‐i‐p Perovskite Solar Cells

Jiacheng Pi, Jiafan Zhang, Kai Wang, Jiarong Wu et al.
4 links
Advanced Functional Materials
Perovskite Materials and Applications
article

Multifunctional Borate Additive Enables Defect Passivation and Crystallization Control Toward High‐Performance n‐i‐p Perovskite Solar Cells

Jiacheng Pi, Jiafan Zhang, Kai Wang, Jiarong Wu, Yucheng Liu, Jiangshan Feng, Danyang Qi, Jinjun Wu, Xingyu Gao, Haoyi Zhang, Yujie Liu, Shengzhong (Frank) Liu, Jianzhong Liu, Nan Li, Yang Cao
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Metal halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) represent one of the most promising next‐generation photovoltaic technologies, owing to their exceptional optical absorption coefficient, tunable bandgap, long carrier diffusion length and low‐cost solution processability. However, the performance of PSCs remains constrained by the crystalline quality and high defect density of perovskite thin films. Herein, we report a multifunctional molecular additive, potassium [(tert‐butoxycarbonylamino) methyl] trifluoroborate (denoted as ER). Theoretical calculations and experimental characterizations reveal that the hydroxyl groups generated via ‐BF 3 − hydrolysis and carbonyl oxygen atoms in ER strongly coordinate with undercoordinated Pb 2+ ions. Meanwhile, the tert‐butoxycarbonylamino (‐NH‐Boc) group effectively suppresses iodide migration by anchoring I − through hydrogen bonding. Notably, ER molecules can capture ambient moisture, converting humidity from a detrimental environmental factor into “chemical fuel” that drives in situ defect passivation through a self‐catalyzed molecular transformation process. As a result, the optimized n‐i‐p structured PSCs with ER achieve a champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 25.63%. Moreover, the unencapsulated device maintains 93.84% of its initial PCE after for 1778 h of aging under ISOS‐D‐1 conditions. This work provides an effective strategy for synergistically regulating perovskite crystallization and defect passivation via molecular engineering, thereby promoting the development of high‐performance and long‐term stable PSCs.

Advanced Functional Materials
Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (CN), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Shanghai Advanced Research Institute (CN), Dalian National Laboratory for Clean Energy (CN), University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (CN), Shaanxi Normal University (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, Foundation for Innovative Research Groups of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Science and Technology Innovation as a Whole Plan Projects of Shaanxi Province, Higher Education Discipline Innovation Project
Affordable and clean energy
Openalex Percentile: Top 24%
Perovskite Materials and Applications
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