Engineering transparent-electrode surface chemistry for robust molecular interfaces in perovskite photovoltaics
- 1University of Electro-Communications, 1-5-1 Chofugaoka, Chofu, Tokyo, Japan, 182-8585
- 2Faculty of Informatics and Engineering, University of Electro-Communications, 1-5-1 Chofugaoka, Chofu, Tokyo, Japan, 182-8585
Abstract
The chemical state of transparent oxide electrodes critically determines the formation and durability of selfassembled monolayer (SAM) contacts in perovskite photovoltaics. Although standard cleaning 1 (SC1) and ultraviolet–ozone (UVO) treatments are individually established approaches for oxide-surface modification, their complementary functions in regulating molecular interfaces remain poorly understood. Here, we show that sequential SC1 reconstruction and UVO activation create a distinct interfacial chemical environment: SC1 removes persistent surface contaminants and reorganizes the oxide coordination environment, whereas subsequent UVO activation eliminates treatment-derived residues and generates the highest hydroxyl-related surface fraction with enhanced thermal persistence. The resulting hydroxyl-rich oxide surface promotes SAM adsorption and strengthens oxide–SAM interactions, establishing a more homogeneous buried molecular contact. This reconstructed interface improves the crystallographic and compositional uniformity of the overlying perovskite absorber, reduces energetic disorder and non-radiative recombination, and suppresses opencircuit-voltage losses. Devices incorporating the reconstructed contact exhibit accelerated carrier extraction, prolonged carrier survival, reduced trap-assisted recombination, and enhanced photovoltaic performance and stability. The strategy further translates across flexible wide-bandgap devices, tin-based perovskite solar cells, and four-terminal perovskite/silicon tandems. These results establish the complementary coupling of SC1 reconstruction and UVO activation as a general strategy for engineering robust hydroxyl-mediated molecular contacts on commercial transparent oxide electrodes.
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BibTeX
@misc{bi2026engineering,
title = {{Engineering transparent-electrode surface chemistry for robust molecular interfaces in perovskite photovoltaics}},
author = {Huān Bì and Safalmani Pradhan and Ze Liu and Yunlong Liu and Liang Wang and Sujun Ji and Yuyao Wei and Qiao Li and Suraya Shaban and Takeshi Kitamura and Jiaqi Liu and Qing Shen and Shuzi Hayase and Huān Bì},
howpublished = {ChemRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.26434/chemrxiv.15008318/v1},
url = {https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15008318/v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Engineering transparent-electrode surface chemistry for robust molecular interfaces in perovskite photovoltaics
AU - Huān Bì
AU - Safalmani Pradhan
AU - Ze Liu
AU - Yunlong Liu
AU - Liang Wang
AU - Sujun Ji
AU - Yuyao Wei
AU - Qiao Li
AU - Suraya Shaban
AU - Takeshi Kitamura
AU - Jiaqi Liu
AU - Qing Shen
AU - Shuzi Hayase
AU - Huān Bì
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/04
PB - ChemRxiv
DO - 10.26434/chemrxiv.15008318/v1
UR - https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15008318/v1
AB - The chemical state of transparent oxide electrodes critically determines the formation and durability of selfassembled monolayer (SAM) contacts in perovskite photovoltaics. Although standard cleaning 1 (SC1) and ultraviolet–ozone (UVO) treatments are individually established approaches for oxide-surface modification, their complementary functions in regulating molecular interfaces remain poorly understood. Here, we show that sequential SC1 reconstruction and UVO activation create a distinct interfacial chemical environment: SC1 removes persistent surface contaminants and reorganizes the oxide coordination environment, whereas subsequent UVO activation eliminates treatment-derived residues and generates the highest hydroxyl-related surface fraction with enhanced thermal persistence. The resulting hydroxyl-rich oxide surface promotes SAM adsorption and strengthens oxide–SAM interactions, establishing a more homogeneous buried molecular contact. This reconstructed interface improves the crystallographic and compositional uniformity of the overlying perovskite absorber, reduces energetic disorder and non-radiative recombination, and suppresses opencircuit-voltage losses. Devices incorporating the reconstructed contact exhibit accelerated carrier extraction, prolonged carrier survival, reduced trap-assisted recombination, and enhanced photovoltaic performance and stability. The strategy further translates across flexible wide-bandgap devices, tin-based perovskite solar cells, and four-terminal perovskite/silicon tandems. These results establish the complementary coupling of SC1 reconstruction and UVO activation as a general strategy for engineering robust hydroxyl-mediated molecular contacts on commercial transparent oxide electrodes.
ER -