Hydroxyl Interfacial Engineering for Self-Assemble Monolayers Anchoring on NiO<sub>x</sub> Enables Efficient and Stable Perovskite Solar Cells.

Wang, Xianzhao; Zhao, Qingyuan; Yang, Lin; Liu, Ziyan; Liu, Yanxiang; Geng, Chunhui; Zheng, Tianfang; Zheng, Yisong et al. · Adv Mater · 2026

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

The performance of inverted perovskite solar cells (PSCs) is critically constrained by interfacial losses arising from the insufficient coverage and weak adhesion of self-assembled monolayers (SAM). Herein, we report a SAM regulation strategy by mixing hydroxylated V<sub>2</sub>CT<sub>x</sub> MXene (V<sub>2</sub>C-OH) with nickel oxide (NiO<sub>x</sub>), which can provide abundant hydroxyl sites for SAM anchoring, thereby forming a uniform and dense SAM layer. First-principles calculations further reveal that the binding energy between SAM and hydroxyl groups on V<sub>2</sub>C-OH is stronger than that on pristine NiO<sub>x</sub>, explaining the enhanced thermal stability of SAM on the hybrid substrate. Meanwhile, the highly ordered and tightly packed SAM layer promotes vertical growth and [001]-preferred orientation of perovskite grains. Therefore, the introduction of V<sub>2</sub>C-OH enables a top-down modulation of the NiO<sub>x</sub>, SAM, and perovskite layers, improving their morphology and interfacial properties. The resulting PSCs achieve a champion power conversion efficiency of 26.6% (certified at 26.2%) for a 0.0524 cm<sup>2</sup> device and 24.7% for a 1 cm<sup>2</sup> device, along with outstanding long-term operational stability.