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Scalable Fabrication of Methylammonium‑Free Wide‑Bandgap Perovskite Solar Cells by Blade Coating in Ambient Air

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Go to the profile of Lillian Zhang
Lillian Zhang
Editor, Nano-Micro Letters
Scalable Fabrication of Methylammonium‑Free Wide‑Bandgap Perovskite Solar Cells by Blade Coating in Ambient Air
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Scalable Fabrication of Methylammonium-Free Wide-Bandgap Perovskite Solar Cells by Blade Coating in Ambient Air - Nano-Micro Letters

Scalable fabrication of efficient wide-bandgap (WBG) perovskite solar cells (PSCs) is crucial to realize the full commercial potential of tandem solar cells. However, there are challenges in fabricating efficient methylammonium-free (MA-free) WBG PSCs by blade coating, especially its phase separation and films stability. In this work, an MA-free WBG perovskite ink is developed for preparing FA0.8Cs0.2Pb(I0.75Br0.25)3 films by blade coating in ambient air. Among various A-site iodides, RbI is found to be the most effective in suppressing the precipitation of PbI2 induced by Pb(SCN)2 while keeping the enlarged grains. The distribution of Rb suggested that the Rb ions are kept isolated with the perovskite grains during the crystallization and Ostwald ripening processes, which contributes to the formation of the large-grain WBG perovskite film with minimum non-radiative recombination. As a result, a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 23.0% was achieved on small-area WBG PSCs, while mini-modules with an aperture area of 10.5 cm2 exhibited a PCE of 20.2%, among the highest reported for solar cells prepared with WBG perovskites via blade coating. This work presents a scalable and reproducible fabrication strategy for stable MA-free WBG PSCs under ambient conditions, advancing their path toward commercialization.

Wide-band-gap perovskites are the key top-cell for >30 % tandem modules, yet spin-coating and methylammonium (MA) instability block factory-scale production. Now researchers from Southwest Petroleum University, UNSW and UCL have formulated an MA-free ink that can be blade-coated in ambient air and delivers certified 23 % efficiency—one of the highest values ever reported for a 1.69 eV MA-free film.

Why This Matters

  • Air-processable: 23 % small-area cell and 20.2 % 10.5 cm2 mini-module fabricated entirely in room air—no glove-box.
  • MA-free stability: eliminates MA cation de-protonation and proton migration, extending operational lifetime (80 % PCE retained after 320 h MPP tracking at 45 °C).
  • Factory friendly: blade-coating + vacuum-quench compatible with metre-wide roll-to-roll lines and existing tandem equipment.

Innovative Design & Features

  • RbI + Pb(SCN)2 synergy: Rb ions segregate to grain boundaries, suppress PbI2 precipitation while preserving micron-scale grains; Pb(SCN)2 slows nucleation for compact, low-defect films.
  • Intermediate-phase control: 2-imidazolidinone additive stabilises a metastable solvate that converts to pure α-phase perovskite during 120 °C anneal.
  • Graded interface: PEAI/EDAI2 surface layer plus Al2O3 nano-sheet scaffold minimise non-radiative recombination and push V_OC to 1.26 V.

Applications & Future Outlook

  • Tandem ready: band-gap (1.69 eV) and current density (21.75 mA cm-2) matched to c-Si bottom cells; modules retain 92 % PCE after 1,100 h ambient storage.
  • Upscaling roadmap: uniform 5 × 5 cm2films verified by XRD mapping; laser-patterned mini-modules show negligible area loss (fill factor 76 %).
  • Industry impact: simple, low-temperature process shortens the efficiency-cost-stability gap for perovskite/silicon tandems and accelerates gigawatt-scale manufacturing.

This work offers a clear, additive-guided pathway to print stable, high-performance wide-band-gap layers under factory air—bringing low-cost, high-efficiency tandem photovoltaics one step closer to market deployment.

Go to the profile of Lillian Zhang
Lillian Zhang
Editor, Nano-Micro Letters

Editor of Nano-Micro Letters, which is an Open-Access, peer-reviewed journal reported papers that have at least one dimension ranging from a few sub-nanometers to a few hundreds of micrometers. The journal is published by Springer Nature and indexed by SCI, EI, SCOPUS, Pubmed, etc. The 2024 JCR Impact Factor is 36.3. The 2024 CiteScore is 53.1.

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Perovskites
Physical Sciences > Materials Science > Materials for Energy and Catalysis > Perovskites
Solar Cells
Physical Sciences > Chemistry > Physical Chemistry > Photochemistry > Photovoltaics > Solar Cells
Photochemistry
Physical Sciences > Chemistry > Physical Chemistry > Photochemistry
Nanoscale Design, Synthesis and Processing
Physical Sciences > Materials Science > Nanotechnology > Nanoscale Design, Synthesis and Processing
Materials for Energy and Catalysis
Physical Sciences > Materials Science > Materials for Energy and Catalysis
  • Nano-Micro Letters Nano-Micro Letters

    Nano-Micro Letters is a peer-reviewed, international, interdisciplinary and open-access journal that focus on science, experiments, engineering, technologies and applications of nano- or microscale structure and system in physics, chemistry, biology, material science, and pharmacy.

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