Synchronous Passivation of Defects with Low Formation Energies via Terdentate Anchoring Enabling High Performance Perovskite Solar Cells with Efficiency over 24%

The ionic nature endows halide perovskites with intrinsic interfacial defects in the formed polycrystalline films, thus imposing the challenge of synchronously passivating these defects with low formation energies that directly account for the unsatisfied performance of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). By virtue of the theoretically proven capability of a three to four times enhancement of the formation energy of each defect of Pb-I antisite (Pb_I) and iodine vacancy (V_I), a new passivation molecule of 1,10-phenanthrolin-5-amine (PAA) is intentionally explored to synchronously passivate the dual defects. The pronounced passivation effect is experimentally verified by the sharp enhancement of the open-circuit voltage in ternary PSCs from the original 1.118 up to 1.207 V, as well as the construction of PAA-modified formamidinium lead iodide PSCs with a champion efficiency up to 24.06%, thus providing a universal alternative of addressing interfacial charge carrier dynamics and operational stability of PSCs that are bothered by the multiple interfacial defects.