Enhanced Crystal Quality of Perovskite via Protonated Graphitic Carbon Nitride Added in Carbon-Based Perovskite Solar Cells

The quality of perovskite layers has a great impact on the performance of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, defects and related trap sites are generated inevitably in the solution-processed polycrystalline perovskite films. It is meaningful to reduce and passivate the defect states by incorporating additive into the perovskite layer to improve perovskite crystallization. Here an environmental friendly 2D nanomaterial protonated graphitic carbon nitride (p-g-C_3N_4) was successfully synthesized and doped into perovskite layer of carbon-based PSCs. The addition of p-g-C_3N_4 into perovskite precursor solution not only adjusts nucleation and growth rate of methylammonium lead tri-iodide (MAPbI_3) crystal for obtaining flat perovskite surface with larger grain size, but also reduces intrinsic defects of perovskite layer. It is found that the p-g-C_3N_4 locates at the perovskite core, and the active groups -NH_2/NH_3 and NH have a hydrogen bond strengthening, which effectively passivates electron traps and enhances the crystal quality of perovskite. As a result, a higher power conversion efficiency of 6.61% is achieved, compared with that doped with g-C_3N_4 (5.93%) and undoped one (4.48%). This work demonstrates a simple method to modify the perovskite film by doping new modified additives and develops a low-cost preparation for carbon-based PSCs.