Humidity-Resistant Flexible Perovskite Solar Cells with Over 20% Efficiency

Flexible perovskite solar cells (FPSCs) with high efficiency and excellent mechanical flexible properties have attracted enormous interest as a promising photovoltaic technology in recent years. However, the performance or stability of FPSCs is still far inferior to that of conventional glass-based perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Herein, a cross-linking agent called aluminum acetylacetonate (Al(acac)(3)) is introduced as an interface layer between electron transport layer and perovskite absorber. Due to the well-matched energy levels and improved grain size and crystallinity of the perovskite, a champion device with the highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 20.87% is achieved on the FPSCs. The device retains about 80% of its initial performance after 1000 h under >50% relative humidity without encapsulation. In addition, attributed to the Al(acac)(3) super bending resistance, more than 91% of the original PCE is retained after 1500 bending cycles. This work proposes the substrate side optimization for improving device efficiency and stability which may provide a novel concept for promoting the development of FPSCs.