Recent advances in heterojunction and interfacial engineering of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have enabled great progress in developing highly efficient and stable devices. Nevertheless, the effect of halide choice on the formation mechanism, crystallography, and photoelectric properties of the low‐dimensional phase still requires further detailed study. In this work, we present key insights into the significance of halide choice when designing passivation strategies comprising large organic spacer salts, clarifying the effect of anions on the formation of quasi‐2D/3D heterojunctions. To demonstrate the importance of halide influences, we employ novel neo‐pentylammonium halide salts with different halide anions (neoPAX, X=I, Br, or Cl). We find that regardless of halide selection, iodide‐based (neoPA)2(FA)(n‐1)PbnI(3n+1) phases are formed above the perovskite substrate, while the added halide anions diffuse and passivate the perovskite bulk. In addition, we also find the halide choice has an influence on the degree of dimensionality (n). Comparing the three halides, we find that chloride‐based salts exhibit superior crystallographic, enhanced carrier transport, and extraction compared to the iodide and bromide analogs. As a result, we report high power conversion efficiency in quasi‐2D/3D PSCs, which are optimal when using chloride salts, reaching up to 23.35%, and improving long‐term stability.
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Successful manipulation of halide perovskite surfaces is typically achieved via the interactions between modulators and perovskites. Herein, it is demonstrated that a strong‐interaction surface modulator is beneficial to reduce interfacial recombination losses in inverted (p‐i‐n) perovskite solar cells (IPSCs). Two organic ammonium salts are investigated, consisting of 4‐hydroxyphenethylammonium iodide and 2‐thiopheneethylammonium iodide (2‐TEAI). Without thermal annealing, these two modulators can recover the photoluminescence quantum yield of the neat perovskite film in contact with fullerene electron transport layer (ETL). Compared to the hydroxyl‐functionalized phenethylammonium moiety, the thienylammonium facilitates the formation of a quasi‐2D structure onto the perovskite. Density functional theory and quasi‐Fermi level splitting calculations reveal that the 2‐TEAI has a stronger interaction with the perovskite surface, contributing to more suppressed non‐radiative recombination at the perovskite/ETL interface and improved open‐circuit voltage (VOC) of the fabricated IPSCs. As a result, the VOC increases from 1.11 to 1.20 V (based on a perovskite bandgap of 1.63 eV), yielding a power conversion efficiency (PCE) from ≈20% to 21.9% (stabilized PCE of 21.3%, the highest reported PCEs for IPSCs employing poly[N,N′′‐bis(4‐butylphenyl)‐N,N′′‐bis(phenyl)benzidine] as the hole transport layer, alongside the enhanced operational and shelf‐life stability for unencapsulated devices.
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