Effects of Carrier Transport Layers on Performance Degradation in Perovskite Solar Cells under Proton Irradiation

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are potentially ideal foruse inspace satellites and spacecraft. While perovskites were found to berobust to space particle irradiations, it is important to investigatethe influences of the carrier transport layers in PSCs on the irradiation-inducedperformance degradation. This study reports on the responses of differentCsMAFAPbI(3)-based PSCs to 250 keV proton irradiation. Spiro-OMeTADis used as a hole transport material in the cells, whereas SnO2, TiO2, and In2O3 are usedas electron transport materials. After irradiation, the three differentcells are not degraded up to 1 x 10(13) p/cm(2) and follow a similar degradation trend with further increasing theproton fluence until they are completely destroyed at 6 x 10(14) p/cm(2). By means of recycling, it is shown thatSnO(2), TiO2, and In2O3 havelittle influence on cell degradation, although the square resistancesof SnO2, TiO2, and In2O3 on FTO/glass substrates are increased by 15-19% after irradiationof 6 x 10(14) p/cm(2); instead, the degradationof the spiro-OMeTAD material accounts for the reduced performanceof the PSCs. The proton irradiation leads to a de-doping effect ofspiro-OMeTAD, causing an efficiency decrease of the PSCs. A more radiation-resistanthole transport material to replace spiro-OMeTAD is therefore warrantedto extend the lifetime of the PSCs in space environments.