Enhancing Internal and External Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells Through Polystyrene Modification of the Perovskite and Rapid Open-Air Deposition of ZnO/AlOx Nanolaminate Encapsulation

In this study, the internal and external stabilities of a p–i–n methylammonium lead iodide perovskite solar cell (PSC) are improved. Polystyrene (PS) is introduced into the perovskite layer to form a cross-linked polymer–perovskite network, which enhances the nucleation and growth of the perovskite grains. Moreover, for the first time, 60 nm thick ZnO/AlO_x nanolaminate (NL) thin-film encapsulation (TFE) is deposited directly on the PSC using an atmospheric-pressure (AP) spatial atomic layer deposition system operated in AP spatial chemical vapor deposition (AP–SCVD) mode. The rapid nature of AP–SCVD enables encapsulation of the PSCs in open air at 130 °C without damaging the perovskite. The PS additive improves the performance and internal stability of the PSCs by reducing ion migration. Both the PS additive and the ZnO/AlO_x NL TFEs improve the external stability under standard test conditions (dark, 65 °C, 85% relative humidity [RH]) by preventing water ingress. The number and thickness of the ZnO/AlO_x NL layers are optimized, resulting in a water–vapor transmission rate as low as 5.1 × 10⁻⁵ g m⁻² day⁻¹ at 65 °C and 85% RH. A 14-fold increase in PSC lifetime is demonstrated; notably, this is achieved using PS, a commodity-scale polymer, and AP–SCVD, a scalable, open-air encapsulation method.