Nucleation and Crystallization Control via Polyurethane to Enhance the Bendability of Perovskite Solar Cells with Excellent Device Performance

Solar cells based on mixed organic-inorganic halide perovskites are promising photovoltaic technologies with low-cost and fantastic power conversion efficiency (PCE). Enhancing the nucleation and regulating the crystallization rate of perovskite films and improving the bendability of brittle hybrid grains are crucial to improving the photovoltaic performance of flexible perovskite solar cells (PVSCs). Here, a simple approach is first introduced for fabricating perovskite films with full coverage and larger crystalline size by incorporating the elastomer polyurethane (PU) into the perovskite precursor solution to both retard the crystallization rate and improve the bendability. Shiny, smooth perovskite films are obtained with compact, micrometer-sized crystalline grains that exhibit excellent photoelectric performances. The PVSCs fabricated by incorporating PU into the perovskite precursor offer an impressive PCE of 18.7% with almost no photocurrent hysteresis and excellent stability in ambient air. More importantly, the elastomer PU additive crosslinks the grain boundaries between neighboring perovskite crystals to form a PU network that effectively improves the bendability of the perovskite films.