Impact of Encapsulation Processing Conditions on Degradation Mechanisms of Carbon-Based Perovskite Solar Cells

Abstract

Perovskite photovoltaic (PV) cells have achieved a record 26.7% efficiency, but improvements in stability against humidity, temperature shifts, and light exposure remain crucial. In this work, we explored mesoporous carbon-based perovskite (c-PSC) devices because of carbon's stability and the elimination of a heat-sensitive hole transport layer. Encapsulation materials exhibiting promising properties with silicon PV, including a thermoplastic polyolefin encapsulant, were applied under different lamination conditions to investigate the impact on c-PSC devices’ durability, which is a novel study for this specific combination of materials. Inadequate curing can compromise adhesion, reduce moisture resistance, and accelerate perovskite decomposition under light exposure. Increasing the lamination temperature by 20 °C allowed samples to withstand 1000 h of damp-heat conditions, with a 30% reduction in efficiency, while lower temperature lamination caused immediate performance drops. While light exposure remained highly degrading, higher lamination temperatures delayed damage, preserving 2.5% of the initial power conversion efficiency after 400 h of aging and slowing perovskite decomposition.