Enhancing Charge Transport of 2D Perovskite Passivation Agent for Wide-Bandgap Perovskite Solar Cells Beyond 21%

The replacement of a small amount of organic cations with bulkier organic spacer cations in the perovskite precursor solution to form a 2D perovskite passivation agent (2D-PPA) in 3D perovskite thin films has recently become a promising strategy for developing perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with long-term stability and high efficiency. However, the long, bulky organic cations often form a barrier, hindering charge transport. Herein, for the first time, 2D-PPA engineering based on wide-bandgap (≈1.68 eV) perovskites are reported. Pentafluorophenethylammonium (F5PEA⁺) is introduced to partially replace phenylethylammonium (PEA⁺) as the 2D-PPA, forming a strong noncovalent interaction between the two bulky cations. The charge transport across and within the planes of pure 2D perovskites, based on mixed ammoniums, increases by a factor of five and three compared with that of mono-cation 2D perovskites, respectively. The perovskite films based on mixed-ammonium (F5PEA⁺-PEA⁺) 2D-PPA exhibit similar surface morphology and crystal structure, but longer carrier lifetime, lower exciton binding energy, less trap density and higher conductivity, in comparison with those using mono-cation (PEA⁺) 2D-PPA. The performance of PSCs based on mixed-cation 2D-PPA is enhanced from 19.58% to 21.10% along with improved stability, which is the highest performance for reported wide-bandgap PSCs.