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Multifunctional MXene for Thermal Management in Perovskite Solar Cells - Nano-Micro Letters

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have emerged as promising photovoltaic technologies owing to their remarkable power conversion efficiency (PCE). However, heat accumulation under continuous illumination remains a critical bottleneck, severely affecting device stability and long-term operational performance. Herein, we present a multifunctional strategy by incorporating highly thermally conductive Ti3C2TX MXene nanosheets into the perovskite layer to simultaneously enhance thermal management and optoelectronic properties. The Ti3C2TX nanosheets, embedded at perovskite grain boundaries, construct efficient thermal conduction pathways, significantly improving the thermal conductivity and diffusivity of the film. This leads to a notable reduction in the device’s steady-state operating temperature from 42.96 to 39.97 °C under 100 mW cm−2 illumination, thereby alleviating heat-induced performance degradation. Beyond thermal regulation, Ti3C2TX, with high conductivity and negatively charged surface terminations, also serves as an effective defect passivation agent, reducing trap-assisted recombination, while simultaneously facilitating charge extraction and transport by optimizing interfacial energy alignment. As a result, the Ti3C2TX-modified PSC achieve a champion PCE of 25.13% and exhibit outstanding thermal stability, retaining 80% of the initial PCE after 500 h of thermal aging at 85 °C and 30 ± 5% relative humidity. (In contrast, control PSC retain only 58% after 200 h.) Moreover, under continuous maximum power point tracking in N2 atmosphere, Ti3C2TX-modified PSC retained 70% of the initial PCE after 500 h, whereas the control PSC drop sharply to 20%. These findings highlight the synergistic role of Ti3C2TX in thermal management and optoelectronic performance, paving the way for the development of high-efficiency and heat-resistant perovskite photovoltaics.