Controlled Redox of Lithium-Ion Endohedral Fullerene for Efficient and Stable Metal Electrode-Free Perovskite Solar Cells

Abstract

High efficiency perovskite solar cells have underpinned the rapid growth of the field. However, their low device stability limits further advancement. Hygroscopic lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (Li⁺TFSI^-) and metal electrode are the main causes of the device instability. In this work, the redox reaction between lithium-ion endohedral fullerenes and 2,2',7,7'-tetrakis(<i>N</i>,<i>N</i>-di-<i>p</i>-methoxyphenylamine)-9,9'-spirobi-fluorene (spiro-MeOTAD) was controlled to optimize the amount of oxidized spiro-MeOTAD and antioxidizing neutral endohedral fullerenes. Application of this mixture to metal-free carbon nanotube (CNT)-laminated perovskite solar cells resulted in 17.2% efficiency with a stability time of more than 1100 h under severe conditions (temperature = 60 °C, humidity = 70%). Such high performance is attributed to the uninhibited charge flow, no metal-ion migration, and the enhanced antioxidizing activity of the devices.