A new
simple environmentally benign water-soluble zwitterion, sulfamic
acid (SA), was used as a multifunctional additive to tune the properties
of PEDOT:PSS-based hole transporting layer (HTL). A layer of PEDOT:PSS
was inserted in-between the ITO electrode and SA-modified PEDOT:PSS
to form a pseudo bi-layered PS/SA@PS HTL to protect the ITO electrode
from damage by more acidic SA@PS. Inverted tin-based perovskite solar
cells based on the pseudo bi-layered PS/SA@PS HTLs achieved the highest
efficiency of 10.5% with very small current hysteresis. The cell lost
only 5% of the initial efficiency by storing in a glovebox without
packing for more than 2000 h. The functions of SA include increasing
the conductivity and mobility of the HTL to extract and transport
the hole facilely by changing the conformation of PEDOT chains via zwitterion-induced charge screening, elevating the work
function of PEDOT:PSS to match the VB of TPsk via increasing the PSS– chains on the HTL surface,
creating a more hydrophilic surface for depositing better quality
tin perovskite film (TPsk with the chemical formula of FA0.98EDA0.01SnI3), and avoiding the oxidation Sn2+ to Sn4+
via interacting with
Sn2+ ions (at the HTL/absorber interface) using the sulfite
group on SA, which were revealed with various physicochemical data.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.