Investigation of Potential-Induced Degradation in Perovskite Solar Cells under Inert Conditions

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have emerged as a promising photovoltaic technology due to their remarkable efficiency advancements. However, their commercialization is hindered by stability challenges, including sensitivity to environmental conditions and a critical degradation mechanism known as potential-induced degradation (PID). PID can significantly impair PSC performance within hours under operational conditions. This study investigates PID in 48 triple-cation p-i-n PSCs over 313 h in an inert environment, excluding additional stressors like moisture and oxygen. The PID-stressed devices degraded to 79% of their initial efficiency, primarily driven by losses in short-circuit current density. Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy revealed sodium ion migration from soda-lime glass substrates into the perovskite layer. Interestingly, photoluminescence and X-ray diffraction analyses detected no measurable differences between PID-stressed and reference devices, contradicting prior literature that associates PID with perovskite segregation and decomposition. These findings challenge the conventional understanding of PID, suggesting that environmental factors such as oxygen and moisture might exacerbate degradation effects. This work provides critical insights into the intrinsic mechanisms of PID under controlled conditions and highlights the need for further research into the interplay between PID and environmental stressors to guide the development of more stable PSC technologies.