Publication date: 17th February 2025
For the formation of hole-selective contacts in p-i-n (or “inverted”) perovskite solar cells, 2PACz and related materials, commonly referred to as self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), are the most popular choices. These materials effectively combine two functionalities: a hole-selective carbazole unit and a phosphonic acid group that facilitates monolayer formation. While this general strategy has been also used with electron-selective chromophores, resulting in such materials as PANDI [1] and C60-C6-PA [2], progress in this area has been hindered by the limited availability of suitable chromophores and their challenging chemical properties, such as low solubility.
Recent advancements with non-fullerene acceptors in organic photovoltaics have demonstrated the potential of alternative chromophores, inspiring new approaches in the development of electron-selective monolayers (eSAMs). Building on this progress, we investigated a donor-acceptor design strategy to create efficient eSAMs.
We selected a readily available carbazole donor for initial optimization and chemically modified it with acceptor/anchoring substituents to enhance its electron-accepting properties. In particular, cyanacetic and rhodanine acetic acid fragments were used. Preliminary tests in n-i-p perovskite solar cells demonstrated that these molecules could achieve performance exceeding 18%, comparable to standard SnO2-based devices that achieve over 19%. However, the suboptimal performance (lower PCE and hysteresis) observed in these initial devices highlights the need for further optimization.
To improve performance, we are focusing on the molecular design of the prototype compound. This includes optimizing anchoring groups to improve interactions with substrates, as well as modification of functional groups. We hope that these improvements will help to establish these eSAMs as viable alternatives for next-generation perovskite solar cells.
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