Low-temperature fabrication of carbon-electrode based, hole-conductor-free and mesoscopic perovskite solar cells with power conversion efficiency > 12% and storage-stability > 220 days

A low-temperature fabrication routine is developed for hole-conductor-free and mesoscopic perovskite solar cells using a TiO2 nanoparticle-binding carbon electrode as the top electrode. Vacuum treatment is adopted to help the infiltration and formation processes of the organic–inorganic hybrid perovskite crystallites. It is observed that such treatment not only condenses the mesoporous skeleton and improves film conductance of the carbon electrode but also makes the perovskite crystallites grow in the core part of the mesoporous skeleton. As such, the extraction process of photogenerated charge carriers is accelerated due to the strengthened interfacial contact between the perovskite crystallites and the skeleton. Accordingly, the photo-to-electric power conversion efficiency of the low-temperature devices is upgraded from 7.38 (±1.40)% to 10.17 (±0.86)% (optimized at 12.29%, AM 1.5 G, 100 mW/cm2). In addition, prolonged stability is observed. Due to the condensed device structure, storage stability of 225 days has been achieved in ambient air (with relative humidity of about 40–60%), even without encapsulation. The proposed strategy is helpful in further reducing the production cost.