Lead halide perovskite solar cells have recently attracted tremendous attention because of their excellent photovoltaic efficiencies. However, the poor stability of both the perovskite material and the charge transport layers has so far prevented the fabrication of devices that can withstand sustained operation under normal conditions. Here, we report a solution-processed lead halide perovskite solar cell that has p-type NiO(x) and n-type ZnO nanoparticles as hole and electron transport layers, respectively, and shows improved stability against water and oxygen degradation when compared with devices with organic charge transport layers. Our cells have a p-i-n structure (glass/indium tin oxide/NiO(x)/perovskite/ZnO/Al), in which the ZnO layer isolates the perovskite and Al layers, thus preventing degradation. After 60 days storage in air at room temperature, our all-metal-oxide devices retain about 90% of their original efficiency, unlike control devices made with organic transport layers, which undergo a complete degradation after just 5 days. The initial power conversion efficiency of our devices is 14.6 ± 1.5%, with an uncertified maximum value of 16.1%.

Moisture is assumed to be detrimental to organometal trihalide perovskite, as excess water can damage the crystallinity of the perovskite structure. Here, we report a growth mode for via thermal annealing of the perovskite precursor film in a humid environment (e.g., ambient air) to greatly improve the film quality, grain size, carrier mobility, and lifetime. Our method produces devices with maximum power conversion efficiency of 17.1% and a fill factor of 80%, revealing a promising route to achieve high quality perovskite polycrystalline films with superior optoelectronic properties that can pave the way towards efficient photovoltaic conversion. V C 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

Tandem solar cells have the potential to improve photon conversion efficiencies (PCEs) beyond the limits of single-junction devices. In this study, a triple-junction tandem design is demonstrated by employing three distinct organic donor materials having bandgap energies ranging from 1.4 to 1.9 eV. Through optical modeling, balanced photon absorption rates are achieved and, thereby, the photo-currents are matched among the three subcells. Accordingly, an efficient triple-junction tandem organic solar cell can exhibit a record-high PCE of 11.5%.

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A reduction of the bandgap and an enhancement of the charge transport properties of a LBG polymer (PBDTT‐DPP) can be achieved simultaneously by changing the sulfur atoms on the DPP unit to selenium atoms. The newly designed polymer, PBDTT‐SeDPP (Eg = 1.38 eV), shows excellent photovoltaic performance in single junction devices with power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) over 7% and photo‐response up to 900 nm. A tandem polymer solar cell and a visibly transparent solar cell based on PBDTT‐SeDPP show 9.5% and 4.5% PCEs, which are superior to those based on PBDTT‐DPP.