Lewis base molecules that bind undercoordinated lead atoms at interfaces and grain boundaries (GBs) are known to enhance the durability of metal halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Using density functional theory calculations, we found that phosphine-containing molecules have the strongest binding energy among members of a library of Lewis base molecules studied herein. Experimentally, we found that the best inverted PSC treated with 1,3-bis(diphenylphosphino)propane (DPPP), a diphosphine Lewis base that passivates, binds, and bridges interfaces and GBs, retained a power conversion efficiency (PCE) slightly higher than its initial PCE of ~23% after continuous operation under simulated AM1.5 illumination at the maximum power point and at ~40°C for >3500 hours. DPPP-treated devices showed a similar increase in PCE after being kept under open-circuit conditions at 85°C for >1500 hours.

A highly efficient organic photocatalyst (OPC) for photoinduced electron/energy-transfer reversible addition–fragmentation chain-transfer (PET-RAFT) polymerization was identified through a systematic catalyst design and discovery. The devised OPC offers excellent control over PET-RAFT polymerizations of methyl methacrylate at very low catalyst loadings (5 ppm), that is, ca. 5–50 times lower loadings than other OPCs reported so far. Moreover, excellent oxygen tolerance was achieved using the discovered OPC combined with trithiocarbonate-based chain-transfer agent (CTA) under low-energy light irradiation conditions. In depth experimental and computational investigations revealed that (1) strong visible-light absorption and efficient generation of long-lived triplet states of the OPC due to its unique molecular structure and (2) the oxidation stability and no rate retardation of trithiocarbonate-based CTA are the key to the outstanding oxygen tolerance and ppm-level catalyst loadings. Our approach is thus believed to address a variety of challenging tasks related to polymer synthesis and living additive manufacturing.

High definition of all-small molecule materials for organic solar cells allows slow separation of localized charges.

Three new HTMs are tested in perovskite solar cells, their performance analysed by combination of simple TPC/TPV measurements and simulation.

Bifacial solar cells have the potential to maintain energy output higher than monofacial devices under unfavorable weather conditions. A transparent back‐buffer layer which can passivate the interface and improve the minority carrier lifetime is critical in CdTe‐based bifacial devices. Herein, solution‐processed CuxCryOz as a promising back‐buffer for CdTe/CdS solar cells is demonstrated. The carrier lifetimes measured at the front and back of the device are 31.2 and 3.1 ns, respectively, which correspond to an increase of ≈38% and 138%, respectively, compared to the reference device. This dramatic improvement in lifetime results in a 100% increase in short‐circuit current measured with backside illumination. The best bifacial device has efficiencies 7.6% and 12.5%, respectively, from back and front illumination, yielding a bifaciality factor of 0.60.