Efficient and Ambient-Air Processed Perovskite Solar Cells Enabled by Adamantanethiol as a Dual-Action Modulator
6 affiliations
- 1Sichuan Rangtang Huadian New Energy Co., Ltd., Chengdu 610041, China
- 2Optoelectronic Sensor Devices and Systems Key Laboratory of Sichuan Provincial Universities, College of Optoelectronic Engineering (Chengdu IC Valley Industrial College), Chengdu University of Information Technology, Chengdu 610225, China
- 3Sichuan Meteorological Optoelectronic Sensor Technology and Application Engineering Research Center, Chengdu University of Information Technology, Chengdu 610225, China
- 4Information Materials and Device Applications Key Laboratory of Sichuan Provincial Universities, Chengdu University of Information Technology, Chengdu 610225, China
- 5Dongguan Key Laboratory of Micro-Nano Optical Field Manipulation and Sensing, School of Physical Sciences, Great Bay University, Dongguan 523000, China
- 6State Key Laboratory of Structural Analysis, Optimization and CAE Software for Industrial Equipment, National Engineering Research Center for Advanced Polymer Processing Technology, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
Abstract
This work presents a dual-modulation strategy using 1-adamantanethiol (ADT), a rigid cage-like molecule, to simultaneously enhance the efficiency and stability of inverted perovskite solar cells. In contrast to conventional flexible small molecule modulators, ADT features a highly rigid three-dimensional adamantane skeleton that enables the formation of a stable steric barrier layer on the perovskite surface. Meanwhile, its terminal –SH group exhibits strong coordination affinity with undercoordinated Pb2+ ions, providing effective chemical passivation of surface defects. Beyond defect healing, the ADT treatment further modulates the interfacial energy-level alignment and optimizes charge carrier extraction and transport, as systematically verified by a suite of advanced optical characterizations, including transient absorption (TA) spectroscopy and terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS). Taken together, these techniques confirm accelerated carrier dynamics and suppressed recombination losses upon ADT passivation. All solution-processing steps were conducted in ambient air (20–25 °C, 40–60% RH), where the hydrophobic ADT layer protects the perovskite from moisture. As a result, the inverted perovskite solar cells fabricated entirely in ambient air incorporating ADT achieve a power conversion efficiency of 23.9%, alongside significantly enhanced operational stability, as evidenced by maintaining superior performance during 400 h of maximum power point (MPP) tracking under continuous illumination.
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BibTeX
@article{cai2026efficient,
title = {{Efficient and Ambient-Air Processed Perovskite Solar Cells Enabled by Adamantanethiol as a Dual-Action Modulator}},
author = {Fujie Cai and Xin Deng and Yuwei Xia and Pengwei Wan and Yong Du and Xiangjian Cheng and Yifeng Li and Jiahao Deng and Yintong Pu and Jingwen Huang and Yong Li and Chen Sun and Weifan Luo},
journal = {Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.3390/molecules31193485},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13666207},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Efficient and Ambient-Air Processed Perovskite Solar Cells Enabled by Adamantanethiol as a Dual-Action Modulator
AU - Fujie Cai
AU - Xin Deng
AU - Yuwei Xia
AU - Pengwei Wan
AU - Yong Du
AU - Xiangjian Cheng
AU - Yifeng Li
AU - Jiahao Deng
AU - Yintong Pu
AU - Jingwen Huang
AU - Yong Li
AU - Chen Sun
AU - Weifan Luo
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/30
JO - Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
DO - 10.3390/molecules31193485
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13666207
AB - This work presents a dual-modulation strategy using 1-adamantanethiol (ADT), a rigid cage-like molecule, to simultaneously enhance the efficiency and stability of inverted perovskite solar cells. In contrast to conventional flexible small molecule modulators, ADT features a highly rigid three-dimensional adamantane skeleton that enables the formation of a stable steric barrier layer on the perovskite surface. Meanwhile, its terminal –SH group exhibits strong coordination affinity with undercoordinated Pb2+ ions, providing effective chemical passivation of surface defects. Beyond defect healing, the ADT treatment further modulates the interfacial energy-level alignment and optimizes charge carrier extraction and transport, as systematically verified by a suite of advanced optical characterizations, including transient absorption (TA) spectroscopy and terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS). Taken together, these techniques confirm accelerated carrier dynamics and suppressed recombination losses upon ADT passivation. All solution-processing steps were conducted in ambient air (20–25 °C, 40–60% RH), where the hydrophobic ADT layer protects the perovskite from moisture. As a result, the inverted perovskite solar cells fabricated entirely in ambient air incorporating ADT achieve a power conversion efficiency of 23.9%, alongside significantly enhanced operational stability, as evidenced by maintaining superior performance during 400 h of maximum power point (MPP) tracking under continuous illumination.
SN - 1420-3049
ER -