Improved compactness of self-assembled monolayers through Coulomb interaction enables highly efficient and stable perovskite solar cells

Improved compactness of self-assembled monolayers through Coulomb interaction enables highly efficient and stable perovskite solar cells | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Improved compactness of self-assembled monolayers through Coulomb interaction enables highly efficient and stable perovskite solar cells Feng Yan, Qi Cao, Tao Du, Zuolin Zhang ZHANG, Jianjun Mei, Xilai He, and 8 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8070036/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The deposition of compact self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) presents a significant challenge in the field of inverted perovskite solar cells (PSCs). In this study, we propose a strategy to enhance the compactness of SAMs by strengthening the interactions between SAM molecules and the substrate. Specifically, lithium hydroxide is incorporated into SAM solutions to modify the charge distribution within the SAM molecules. Theoretical simulations indicate a substantial increase in Coulomb interactions among the SAM molecules and the NiO substrate, facilitating the formation of more compact SAM layers under optimized conditions. Experimental results demonstrate that the enhanced compactness significantly improves carrier transport across the SAM layers, resulting in an increase in the champion efficiency of inverted PSCs from 26.0% to 27.3% (with a certified steady-state efficiency of 27.3%). Furthermore, the devices exhibit exceptional operational stability, retaining 94.5% and 93.3% of their initial efficiency after continuous exposure to solar light for 2000 hours at 65°C and 1000 hours at 85°C, respectively, in accordance with the ISOS-L-3 protocol. Physical sciences/Materials science/Materials for energy and catalysis/Solar cells Physical sciences/Energy science and technology/Energy harvesting/Devices for energy harvesting Perovskite solar cells self-assembled monolayers Coulomb interaction Compactness efficiency stability Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files nrphotovoltaicreporting.pdf photovoltaic report supportinginformationNatureEnergy.pdf Supplementary Materials Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8070036","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":565192747,"identity":"3247d78f-10c4-4c3c-a672-9b4a4d2ee95b","order_by":0,"name":"Feng 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