How does water influence perovskite solar cells?

What is it about?

The performance and stability of organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells (PSCs) is sensitive to water and moisture in ambient environment. Understanding how H2O influences the perovskite material is also important for developing appropriate control strategies to mitigate the problem. Here we provide a comprehensive review on the effect of water on the state-of-the art lead-based perovskite solar cells in terms of perovskite material design, perovskite film preparation, device fabrication, and photovoltaic application. It is found that a moderate amount of water can facilitate nucleation and crystallization of the perovskite material, resulting in better perovskite film quality and enhanced PSCs performance. The perovskite materials are irreversibly destroyed by H2O after a certain level of water, but they exhibit better tolerance than initially expected. Humidity resistant fabrication of high-performance PSCs device and module should, therefore, be favoured. Generally, water shows a negative effect on the long-term stability and lifetime of PSCs. To reduce the effects from water during outdoor operation, attention should be paid to different protection methods such as varying the perovskite composition, optimizing the electron/hole transport layer and encapsulation of the device.

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Why is it important?

The performance and stability of organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells (PSCs) is sensitive to water and moisture in ambient environment. Understanding how H2O influences the perovskite material is also important for developing appropriate control strategies to mitigate the problem. Here we provide a comprehensive review on the effect of water on the state-of-the art lead-based perovskite solar cells

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