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Traps and structural defects at the hole and electron transport interfaces of the microcrystalline absorber limits the efficiency and long-term stability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) due to accumulation of the ionic clusters, non-radiative recombination and electrochemical corrosion. Surface engineering using self-assembled monolayers (SAM) was considered as an effective strategy for modification of charge-collection junctions. In this work, we demonstrate the first report about complex integration of a SAM for double-side passivation in p-i-n PSCs. Integrating the novel 5-(4-[bis(4-fluorophenyl)amino]phenyl)thiophene-2-carboxylic acid (FTPATC) as a fluorinated SAM at the hole-transport interface reduced potential barriers and lattice stresses in the absorber. At the electron-transport side, FTPATC interacted with the A-site cations of the perovskite molecule (Cs, formamidinium), inducing a dipole for defect compensation. Using the passivation approach with fluorinated SAM demonstrated benefits in the gain of the output performance up to 22.2%. The key-advantage of double-side passivation was confirmed by the enhanced stability under continuous light-soaking (1-sun equivalent, 65 C, ISOS-L-2), maintaining 88% of the initial performance over 1680 hours and thermal stabilization under harsh heating at 90 C.

The intense research for efficient low-temperature thermoelectric materials motivates the exploration of innovative compounds and composite systems. This study examines the effects of integrating low-dimensional titanium trisulfide (TiS$_3$) into bulk tin-based halide perovskites (CsSnI$_3$) for use in thermoelectric applications. The addition of small amounts of two-dimensional titanium trisulfide (TiS$_3$) to bulk tin-based halide perovskites (CsSnI$_3$) significantly enhanced the structural stability of the composite material and suppressed oxidation processes. The CsSnI$_3$-TiS$_3$ composites demonstrated stabilization of temperature-dependent electrical properties (conductivity and Seebeck coefficient). This study provides valuable insights into the promising approach of using low-dimensional TiS3 as an additive to stabilize the thermoelectric performance of CsSnI$_3$., Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures

Metal halide perovskite solar cells being one of the fastest emerging technologies for renewable energy still has to become more industry friendly in a way that will allow using it for thin film modules or tandems with conventional silicon devices. The simplest way to achieve this is to use chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique for tandem production. In this work, we show a method for a single step production of MAPbI3 films in a simple two-zone CVD reactor from lead diacetate and methyl-ammonium iodide powders. Obtained films show highly ordered cubic MAPbI3 phase with a thickness of 400-500 um, good photoluminescence response and absorption band edge similar to spin-coated film. We used those films to produce p-i-n solar cells with ITO/NiO/MAPbI3/C60/Cu structure. The best cell showed negligible 0.23 % PCE right after the manufacturing but significantly improved to 5.5 % PCE after 8 hours of storage in the dark. The main limiting factor affecting the efficiency is low current density, which we attribute to non-optimized growth conditions; however, our approach is a first step to a single step CVD deposition of MAPbI3 on any type of substrates including texturized silicon subcells for better overall efficiency.

Interface engineering is one of the promising strategies for the long-term stabilization of perovskite solar cells, preventing chemical decomposition induced by external agents and promoting fast charge transfer. Recently, MXenes-2D structured transition metal carbides and nitrides with various functionalization (=O,-F,-OH) demonstrated high potential for mastering the work function in halide perovskite absorbers and significantly improved the n-type charge collection in solar cells. This work demonstrates that MXenes allow for efficient stabilization of perovskite solar cells besides improving their performances. We introduce a new mixed composite bathocuproine:MXene, i.e., (BCP:MXene) interlayer at the interface between an electron-transport layer (ETL) and a metal cathode in the p-in device structure. Our investigation demonstrates that the use of BCP:MXene interlayer slightly increases the power conversation efficiency (PCE) for PSCs (from 16.5 for reference to 17.5%) but dramatically improves the out of Glove-Box stability. Under ISOS-L-2 light soaking stress at 63$\pm$ 1.5{\textdegree}C, The T80 (time needed to reduce efficiency down to 80% of the initial one) period increased from 460 h to > 2300 h.