title: Interfacial Engineering of Perovskite Solar Cells by Employing a Hydrophobic Copper Phthalocyanine Derivative as Hole-Transporting Material with Improved Performance and Stability.
abstract: In high-performance perovskite solar cells (PSCs), hole-transporting materials (HTMs) play an important role in extracting and transporting the photo-generated holes from the perovskite absorber to the cathode, thus reducing unwanted recombination losses and enhancing the photovoltaic performance. Herein, solution-processable tetra-4-(bis(4-tert-butylphenyl)amino)phenoxy-substituted copper phthalocyanine (CuPc-OTPAtBu) was synthesized and explored as a HTM in PSCs. The optical, electrochemical, and thermal properties were fully characterized for this organic metal complex. The photovoltaic performance of PSCs employing this CuPc derivative as a HTM was further investigated, in combination with a mixed-ion perovskite as a light absorber and a low-cost vacuum-free carbon as cathode. The optimized devices [doped with 6 % (w/w) tetrafluoro-tetracyano-quinodimethane (F4TCNQ)] showed a decent power conversion efficiency of 15.0 %, with an open-circuit voltage of 1.01 V, a short-circuit current density of 21.9 mA cm-2, and a fill factor of 0.68. Notably, the PSC devices studied also exhibited excellent long-term durability under ambient condition for 720 h, mainly owing to the introduction of the hydrophobic HTM interlayer, which prevents moisture penetration into the perovskite film. The present work emphasizes that solution-processable CuPc holds a great promise as a class of alternative HTMs that can be further explored for efficient and stable PSCs in the future.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Institute of Artificial Photosynthesis, DUT-KTH Joint Education and Research Center on Molecular Devices, Dalian University of Technology (DUT), 116024, Dalian, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiaoqing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Institute of Artificial Photosynthesis, DUT-KTH Joint Education and Research Center on Molecular Devices, Dalian University of Technology (DUT), 116024, Dalian, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ze
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Institute of Artificial Photosynthesis, DUT-KTH Joint Education and Research Center on Molecular Devices, Dalian University of Technology (DUT), 116024, Dalian, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jianbo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Institute of Artificial Photosynthesis, DUT-KTH Joint Education and Research Center on Molecular Devices, Dalian University of Technology (DUT), 116024, Dalian, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yuchen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Institute of Artificial Photosynthesis, DUT-KTH Joint Education and Research Center on Molecular Devices, Dalian University of Technology (DUT), 116024, Dalian, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Maowei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: College of Chemical Engineering, Shenyang University of Chemical Technology, Shenyang, 110142, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.affiliation: College of Chemical Engineering, Shenyang University of Chemical Technology, Shenyang, 110142, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Dongping
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Institute of Artificial Photosynthesis, DUT-KTH Joint Education and Research Center on Molecular Devices, Dalian University of Technology (DUT), 116024, Dalian, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xichuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Institute of Artificial Photosynthesis, DUT-KTH Joint Education and Research Center on Molecular Devices, Dalian University of Technology (DUT), 116024, Dalian, P.R. China.|Department of Chemistry, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, SE-, 100 44, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Licheng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D017610:Calcium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D007211:Indoles / Q000737:chemistry*; D009942:Organometallic Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D010087:Oxides / Q000737:chemistry*; D012993:Solar Energy; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D017610:Calcium Compounds; D007211:Indoles; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D010087:Oxides; C059910:perovskite; C015445:copper phthalocyanine; D014025:Titanium
keywords: copper phthalocyanine; hole-transporting materials; perovskite solar cells; stability; sustainable energy