Perovskite solar cells are promising photovoltaic technologies due to their high efficiency, insensitivity to defects and low fabrication cost, but viability of the technology requires significant improvements in thermomechanical reliability. To address the challenge of perovskite mechanical instability, a new concept in perovskite device architecture is reported—a reinforcing, patterned hexagonal scaffold in which uniform and efficient perovskite devices are created. The architecture of the scaffold allows for the device to be partitioned into thousands of smaller cells, each of which is mechanically isolated and shielded. The perovskite-infused scaffolds exhibited a fracture resistance of ~13 ± 3 J m<sup>–2</sup>—a 30-fold increase over previously reported planar perovskite devices while still maintaining efficiencies comparable to the planar devices (12.0 ± 0.8% versus 15.2 ± 0.4% for CH3NH33 perovskite devices). Notably, the efficiencies of perovskite-infused scaffold devices were found to be predictable by a simple geometric model, and the individual cells maintained the same efficiency and fill factors as the planar device. Design parameters for the scaffold architecture, including the role of wall widths and height, and cell size, shape, and periodicity will be discussed. These parameters allow for significant tunability of the device performance and thermomechanical behavior. This development is a significant step toward demonstrating robust perovskite solar cells with major improvements in reliability and service lifetimes that can ultimately compete with CIGS, CdTe, and c-Si cells.

Reinforced perovskite solar cells designed with integrated polymer scaffolding for robust, efficient photovoltaics

253rd National Meeting (2017)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.