Locating Non-Radiative Recombination Losses and Understanding Their Impact on the Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells During Photo-Thermal Accelerated Ageing

Peng Z, Wortmann J, Hong J, Zhou S, Bornschlegl A, Haffner-Schirmer J, Corre VM, Heumüller T, Osvet A, Rand BP, Lüer L, Brabec C (2025)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2025

Journal

Advanced Energy Materials Wiley

DOI: 10.1002/aenm.202502787

Abstract

Commercialization of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) requires further breakthroughs in stability, but the complex degradation mechanisms and the interplay of the underlying stress factors complicate insight-driven improvement of long-term stability. This study establishes a quantitative link between potential degradation—specifically open-circuit voltage (VOC) and quasi-Fermi level splitting (QFLS)—and the photo-thermal stability of PSCs. It is highlighted that an increase in non-radiative recombination losses induces the seemingly negligible decrease in VOC and QFLS, though it causes a significant decrease in fill factor (FF) and/or short circuit current (JSC) instead, leading to an overall performance decline. By combining non-destructive photoluminescence imaging and drift-diffusion simulations, it is revealed that during photo-thermal ageing, unstable low-dimensional passivation fails within tens of hours, generating bulk defects, while unstable hole-transport-layer contacts induce interface defects within hours. Building on these findings, a robust hole-transport-layer polymer interface is employed and enhanced perovskite crystal quality to suppress both interface and bulk defect generation during ageing, achieving a T80 lifetime exceeding 1000 h under accelerated ageing conditions (85 °C and two-sun illumination).

Authors with CRIS profile

Zijian Peng Institute Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET) Jonas Wortmann Institute Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET) Shuyu Zhou Professur für Werkstoffwissenschaften (lösungsprozessierte Halbleitermaterialien) Andreas Bornschlegl Institute Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET) Julian Haffner-Schirmer Institute Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET) Thomas Heumüller Institute Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET) Andres Osvet Institute Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET) Larry Lüer Institute Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET) Christoph Brabec Institute Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET)

Involved external institutions

Princeton University US United States (USA) (US) University of Southern Denmark / Syddansk Universitet DK Denmark (DK)

How to cite

APA:

Peng, Z., Wortmann, J., Hong, J., Zhou, S., Bornschlegl, A., Haffner-Schirmer, J.,... Brabec, C. (2025). Locating Non-Radiative Recombination Losses and Understanding Their Impact on the Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells During Photo-Thermal Accelerated Ageing. Advanced Energy Materials. https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202502787

MLA:

Peng, Zijian, et al. "Locating Non-Radiative Recombination Losses and Understanding Their Impact on the Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells During Photo-Thermal Accelerated Ageing." Advanced Energy Materials (2025).

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