Organic n-Type Molecule Mediated Crystallization Regulation for Sn-Pb Perovskite Solar Cells.

Shen, Tao; Yuan, Chengjian; Yue, Ziyao; Wang, Jiarong; Lin, Francis R; Tsang, SaiWing; Jen, Alex K-Y · Adv Mater · 2026

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Narrow-bandgap Sn-Pb perovskites have showcased great potential for constructing tandem perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, Sn<sup>2</sup> <sup>+</sup> in Sn-Pb PSCs is readily oxidized to Sn<sup>4</sup> <sup>+</sup>, and such B-site Sn<sup>4</sup> <sup>+</sup> will introduce excess positive charge and causes severe p-type self-doping, which pins the Fermi level and aggravates non-radiative recombination. Additionally, the Sn-based component crystallizes far more rapidly than that of Pb, resulting in unbalanced Sn-Pb crystallization. To address these challenges, we develop a novel n-type molecule NDBH as perovskite additive. This molecule offers three key advantages: prevents the oxidation of Sn<sup>2</sup> <sup>+</sup> through chelation and blocks oxygen ingress along grain boundaries; balances the crystallization rates of Sn-Pb perovskite by selectively chelating Sn<sup>2</sup> <sup>+</sup>; modifies the perovskite surface to be more n-type. With this organic n-type molecule, the inverted Sn-Pb PSCs achieve power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 24.11%. The devices also exhibited remarkable long-term stability, retaining over 90% of their initial efficiency after 600 h of maximum power point (MPP) tracking. This approach of designing multifunctional n-type molecules offers a new perspective for enhancing the efficiency and stability of Sn-Pb PSCs.