Phenothiazine-Based Self-Assembled Monolayer with Thiophene Head Groups Minimizes Buried Interface Losses in Tin Perovskite Solar Cells

TL;DR

This study introduces a novel phenothiazine-based self-assembled monolayer that improves interface quality and efficiency in tin perovskite solar cells, outperforming previous materials.

Contribution

Design, synthesis, and characterization of Th-2EPT, a new SAM molecule that enhances interface quality and device performance in tin perovskite solar cells.

Findings

Th-2EPT reduces interfacial recombination significantly.

Th-2EPT-based devices achieve a record 8.2% PCE.

Th-2EPT outperforms PEDOT in tin perovskite solar cells.

Abstract

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) have revolutionized the fabrication of lead-based perovskite solar cells, but they remain underexplored in tin perovskite systems. PEDOT is the material of choice for hole-selective layers in tin perovskite solar cells (TPSCs), but presents challenges for both performance and stability. MeO-2PACz, the only SAM reported for Sn perovskites, enables device fabrication but consistently underperforms when compared to PEDOT. In this work, we identify that MeO-2PACz's limitations arise from excessively strong interactions with perovskite surface and poor lattice matching, leading to poor interface quality. To overcome these issues, we design, synthesize, and characterize a novel SAM-forming molecule called Th-2EPT. Th-2EPT optimizes coordination strength and improves lattice compatibility, contributing to the creation of a high-quality buried interface and dramatically suppressing non-radiative recombination. We used Density Functional Theory (DFT) to evaluate coordination strength and lattice compatibility, complemented by nanosecond-resolution optical characterization techniques to confirm significantly reduced interfacial recombination and enhanced carrier lifetimes in Th-2EPT-Perovskite films. With Th-2EPT, we demonstrated the first SAM-based tin perovskite solar cells to outperform PEDOT-based devices, delivering a record power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 8.2% with a DMSO-free solvent system.