J. Huang, S. Tan, P. Lund and H. Zhou, Energy Environ. Sci., 2017, DOI: 10.1039/C7EE01674C    2017-09-22

Impact of H2O on organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells  

Abstract

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 filmquality and enhanced PSCs performance. The perovskite materials are irreversibly destroyed by H2O after a certain level of water, but they exihibit 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 lifetie 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.