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Achieving high-quality cesium-formamidinium lead iodide (CsxFA1_xPbI3) perovskites with tunable band gaps is highly desired for optoelectronic applications including solar cells and light -emit-ting diodes (LEDs). Herein, by utilizing an alkaline-interface-assisted cation-exchange method, we fabricate highly emissive CsxFA1_x PbI3 perovskite films with fine-tunable Cs-FA alloying ratio for emis-sion-tunable near-infrared (NIR) LEDs. We reveal that the deproto-nation of FA+ cations and the formation of hydrogen-bonded gels consisting of CsI and FA facilitated by the zinc oxide underneath effectively removes the Cs-FA ion-exchange barrier, promoting the formation of phase-pure CsxFA1_xPbI3 films with tunable emis-sions filling the gap between that of pure Cs-and FA-based perov-skites. The obtained NIR perovskite LEDs (PeLEDs) peaking from 715 to 780 nm simultaneously demonstrate high peak external quantum efficiencies of over 15%, maximum radiances exceeding 300 W sr_1 m_2, and high power conversion efficiencies above 10% at 100 mA cm_2, representing the best-performing LEDs based on solution-processed NIR emitters in a similar region. Funding Agencies|ERC Starting Grant [717026]; Swedish Research Council Vetenskapsra [2020-03564]; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University [2009-00971]; Swedish Research Council [2020-00589]

Despite rapid improvements in efficiency and brightness of perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs), the poor operational stability remains a critical challenge hindering their practical applications. Here, we demonstrate greatly improved operational stability of high-efficiency PeLEDs, enabled by incorporating dicarboxylic acids into the precursor for perovskite depositions. We reveal that the dicarboxylic acids efficiently eliminate reactive organic ingredients in perovskite emissive layers through an in situ amidation process, which is catalyzed by the alkaline zinc oxide substrate. The formed stable amides prohibit detrimental reactions between the perovskites and the charge injection layer underneath, stabilizing the perovskites and the interfacial contacts and ensuring the excellent operational stability of the resulting PeLEDs. Through rationally optimizing the amidation reaction in the perovskite emissive layers, we achieve efficient PeLEDs with a peak external quantum efficiency of 18.6% and a long half-life time of 682 h at 20 mA cm(-2), presenting an important breakthrough in PeLEDs. Funding Agencies|ERC Starting grantEuropean Research Council (ERC) [717026]; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University (Faculty Grant SFO-Mat-LiU) [2009-00971]; China Scholarship Council (CSC)China Scholarship Council

Perovskite light emitting diodes suffer from poor operational stability, exhibiting a rapid decay of external quantum efficiency within minutes to hours after turn-on. To address this issue, we explore surface treatment of perovskite films with phenylalkylammonium iodide molecules of varying alkyl chain lengths. Combining experimental characterization and theoretical modelling, we show that these molecules stabilize the perovskite through suppression of iodide ion migration. The stabilization effect is enhanced with increasing chain length due to the stronger binding of the molecules with the perovskite surface, as well as the increased steric hindrance to reconfiguration for accommodating ion migration. The passivation also reduces the surface defects, resulting in a high radiance and delayed roll-off of external quantum efficiency. Using the optimized passivation molecule, phenylpropylammonium iodide, we achieve devices with an efficiency of 17.5%, a radiance of 1282.8 W sr−1 m−2 and a record T50 half-lifetime of 130 h under 100 mA cm−2., Perovskite light emitting diodes suffer from operational stability, showing rapid decay of performance within minutes to hours after turn-on. Here, the authors investigate how the steric and Coulomb interaction of ammonium passivation molecules with varying alkyl chain length can improve device stability by suppressing iodide ion migration.

Perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) have recently shown significant progress with external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) exceeding 20%. However, PeLEDs with pure-red (620-660 nm) light emission, an essential part for full-color displays, remain a great challenge. Herein, a general approach of spacer cation alloying is employed in Ruddlesden-Popper perovskites (RPPs) for efficient red PeLEDs with precisely tunable wavelengths. By simply tuning the alloying ratio of dual spacer cations, the thickness distribution of quantum wells in the RPP films can be precisely modulated without deteriorating their charge-transport ability and energy funneling processes. Consequently, efficient PeLEDs with tunable emissions between pure red (626 nm) and deep red (671 nm) are achieved with peak EQEs up to 11.5%, representing the highest values among RPP-based pure-red PeLEDs. This work opens a new route for color tuning, which will spur future developments of pure-red or even pure-blue PeLEDs with high performance. Ministry of Education (MOE) National Research Foundation (NRF) Published version This work was financially supported by the ERC Starting Grant (No. 717026), the Swedish Research Council VR (No. 2018–07109), the Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education (No. CH2018-7736), and the Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linköping University (Faculty Grant SFO-Mat-LiU no. 2009-00971). The computational work for this article was fully performed on resources of the National Supercomputing Centre (NSCC), Singapore (https://www.nscc.sg). S.R., Q.X., X.-K.L., and T.C.S. acknowledge the support from Nanyang Technological University under its start-up grant (M4080514); the Ministry of Education, Singapore, under its AcRF Tier 2 grants (MOE2019-T2-1-006 and MOE-T2EP50120-0004); and the National Research Foundation (NRF), Singapore, under its NRF Investigatorship (NRF-NRFI2018-04). L.H. thanks the NSFC Project (61774077), the Key Projects of Joint Fund of Basic and Applied Basic Research Fund of Guangdong Province (2019B1515120073, 2019B090921002, 2020A1414010036), and the Guangzhou Key laboratory of Vacuum Coating Technologies and New Energy Materials Open Projects Fund (KFVE20200006) for financial support. Z.C. thanks the project funded by China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2020M673055). J.Q. acknowledges the support by the Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangzhou, China (Grant No. 201605030008), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. 21621008)

We investigate the effect of commonly used solution-processed TiOx, SnO2 and ZnO interlayers on the perovskite film crystallization process. We find that the ZnO/perovskite interface can efficiently catalyze the perovskite crystallization even without thermal annealing. Funding Agencies|ERC [717026]; Carl Tryggers Stiftelse; European Commission [691210]; China Scholarship Council; VINNMER Marie Curie Fellowships

Perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) have experienced rapid improvements in device efficiency during the last several years. However, the operational instability of PeLEDs remains a key barrier hindering their practical applications. A fundamental understanding of the degradation mechanism is still lacking but will be important to seek ways to mitigate these unwanted processes. In this work, through comprehensive characterizations of the perovskite emitters and the interfacial contacts, we figure out that Joule heating induced interface degradation is one of the dominant factors affecting the operational stability of PeLEDs. We investigate the interfacial contacts of PeLEDs based on a commonly used device structure, with an organic electron transport layer of 1,3,5-tris(N-phenylbenzimiazole-2-yl)benzene (TPBi), and observe obvious photoluminescence quenching of the perovskite layer after device operation. Detailed characterizations of the interlayers and the interfacial contacts reveal that photoluminescence quenching is mainly due to the element inter-diffusion at the interface induced by the morphological evolution of the TPBi layers under Joule heating during the operation of PeLEDs. Our work provides direct insights into the degradation pathways and highlights the importance of exploring intrinsically stable interlayers as well as interfacial contacts beyond the state-of-the-art to further boost the operational stability of PeLEDs. Funding Agencies|National Natural Science Foundation of ChinaNational Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) [91833303, 61974098, 61674108]; National Key Research and Development Program [2016YFA0201900]; Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions; 111 programMinistry of Education, China - 111 Project; Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology (NANO-CIC); ERC Starting GrantEuropean Research Council (ERC) [717026]; Swedish Energy Agency EnergimyndighetenSwedish Energy Agency [48758-1]; Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF)-Bridge POWERSwiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) [20B2-1_176552/1]; Postgraduate Research & Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province [KYCX18_2504]; China Scholarship CouncilChina Scholarship Council [201806920071]

Metal halide perovskites are promising materials for the fabrication of cost-effective and highperformance light-emitting diodes (LEDs), due to their solution processability, high photoluminescence ...

Solar cells based on metal halide perovskites are one of the most promising photovoltaic technologies(1-4). Over the past few years, the long-term operational stability of such devices has been greatly improved by tuning the composition of the perovskites(5-9), optimizing the interfaces within the device structures(10-13), and using new encapsulation techniques(14,15). However, further improvements are required in order to deliver a longer-lasting technology. Ion migration in the perovskite active layer-especially under illumination and heat-is arguably the most difficult aspect to mitigate(16-18). Here we incorporate ionic liquids into the perovskite film and thence into positive-intrinsic-negative photovoltaic devices, increasing the device efficiency and markedly improving the long-term device stability. Specifically, we observe a degradation in performance of only around five per cent for the most stable encapsulated device under continuous simulated full-spectrum sunlight for more than 1,800 hours at 70 to 75 degrees Celsius, and estimate that the time required for the device to drop to eighty per cent of its peak performance is about 5,200 hours. Our demonstration of long-term operational, stable solar cells under intense conditions is a key step towards a reliable perovskite photovoltaic technology. Funding Agencies|UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) [EP/M015254/2, EP/M024881/1]; European Research Council (ERC) [717026]; Swedish Research Council Vetenskapsradet [330-2014-6433]; European Commission Marie Sklodowska-Curie action [INCA 600398]; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University [SFO-Mat-LiU 2009-00971]; European Union [763977]; China Scholarship Council (CSC); Bavarian State Ministry of Science, Research, and the Arts; German Research Foundation (DFG); Swiss National Science Foundation [cr23i2-162828]

Organometallic lead halide perovskites are excellent light harvesters for high-efficiency photovoltaic devices. However, as the key component in these devices, a perovskite thin film with good morphology and minimal trap states is still difficult to obtain. Herein we show that by incorporating a low boiling point alkyl halide such as iodomethane (CH3I) into the precursor solution, a perovskite (CH3NH3PbI3-xClx) film with improved grain size and orientation can be easily achieved. More importantly, these films exhibit a significantly reduced amount of trap states. Record photoluminescence lifetimes of more than 4 μs are achieved; these lifetimes are significantly longer than that of pristine CH3NH3PbI3-xClx films. Planar heterojunction solar cells incorporating these CH3I-mediated perovskites have demonstrated a dramatically increased power conversion efficiency compared to the ones using pristine CH3NH3PbI3-xClx. Photoluminescence, transient absorption, and microwave detected photoconductivity measurements all provide consistent evidence that CH3I addition increases the number of excitons generated and their diffusion length, both of which assist efficient carrier transport in the photovoltaic device. The simple incorporation of alkyl halide to enhance perovskite surface passivation introduces an important direction for future progress on high efficiency perovskite optoelectronic devices.

Inorganic/organic ternary hybrid structures are emerging as promising candidates for the fabrication of novel solar cells. As one of the most important inorganic solar cell material, silicon (Si) is worth careful exploration during the preparation of the hybrid structures. Here we incorporate the nanoscale form of Si, Si nanocrystals (NCs), into the classical bulk-heterojunction organic solar cells based on poly (3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). It is found that the solar cell efficiency may increase by ~ 40% when ~ 5% of PCBM in the original P3HT:PCBM blend is replaced with Si NCs. The efficiency enhancement is enabled by the improved short-wavelength absorption, optimized film structure and cascade energy-level alignment.

Room-temperature spin-based electronics is the vision of spintronics. Presently, there are few suitable material systems. Herein, we reveal that solution-processed mixed-phase Ruddlesden–Popper perovskite thin-films transcend the challenges of phonon momentum-scattering that limits spin-transfer in conventional semiconductors. This highly disordered system exhibits a remarkable efficient ultrafast funneling of photoexcited spin-polarized excitons from two-dimensional (2D) to three-dimensional (3D) phases at room temperature. We attribute this efficient exciton relaxation pathway towards the lower energy states to originate from the energy transfer mediated by intermediate states. This process bypasses the omnipresent phonon momentum-scattering in typical semiconductors with stringent band dispersion, which causes the loss of spin information during thermalization. Film engineering using graded 2D/3D perovskites allows unidirectional out-of-plane spin-funneling over a thickness of ~600 nm. Our findings reveal an intriguing family of solution-processed perovskites with extraordinary spin-preserving energy transport properties that could reinvigorate the concepts of spin-information transfer., Spin-information transport or transfer is essential for spintronics applications and often relies on high purity and quality materials. Here, the authors report on the defect-tolerant solution-processed Ruddlesden–Popper halide perovskites, where a spin propagation length of 600 nm was achieved via spin funneling.

Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) are among the most promising next-generation optoelectronic materials. QDs are generally obtained through either epitaxial or colloidal growth and carry the promise for solution-processed high-performance optoelectronic devices such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs), solar cells, etc. Herein, a straightforward approach to synthesize perovskite QDs and demonstrate their applications in efficient LEDs is reported. The perovskite QDs with controllable crystal sizes and properties are in situ synthesized through one-step spin-coating from perovskite precursor solutions followed by thermal annealing. These perovskite QDs feature size-dependent quantum confinement effect (with readily tunable emissions) and radiative monomolecular recombination. Despite the substantial structural inhomogeneity, the in situ generated perovskite QDs films emit narrow-bandwidth emission and high color stability due to efficient energy transfer between nanostructures that sweeps away the unfavorable disorder effects. Based on these materials, efficient LEDs with external quantum efficiencies up to 11.0% are realized. This makes the technologically appealing in situ approach promising for further development of state-of-the-art LED systems and other optoelectronic devices. Funding Agencies|ERC Starting Grant [717026]; Carl Tryggers Stiftelse; European Commission Marie SklodowskaCurie Actions [691210]; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University (Faculty Grant SFO-Mat-LiU) [2009-00971]; China Scholarship Council

Metal halide perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) have demonstrated great advances for light-emitting diodes (LEDs) applications, owing to their excellent optical, electrical properties and cost-effective solution-processing potentials. Tremendous progress has been made in perovskite NCs-based LEDs during the past several years, with the external quantum efficiency (EQE) boosted to over 20 %. Recently, metal doping/alloying strategy has been explored to finely tune the optoelectronic properties and enhance material stability of perovskite NCs, leading to further improved device efficiency and stability of the obtained perovskite NCs-based LEDs. In this review, we summarize recent progress on the metal doping/alloying of perovskite NCs and their applications in LEDs. We focus on the effects of different metal doping strategies on the structural and optoelectronic properties of the perovskite NCs. In addition, several works on high-performance LEDs based on metal doped/alloyed perovskite NCs with different light emission colours are highlighted. Finally, we present an outlook on employing metal doping/alloying strategies to further improve the device efficiency and stability of LEDs based on perovskite NCs.

Herein, an insulating biopolymer is exploited to guide the controlled formation of micro/nano-structure and physical confinement of alpha-delta mixed phase crystalline grains of formamidinium lead iodide (FAPbI(3)) perovskite, functioning as charge carrier concentrators and ensuring improved radiative recombination and photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY). This composite material is used to build highly efficient near-infrared (NIR) FAPbI(3) Perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) that exhibit a high radiance of 206.7 W/sr*m(2), among the highest reported for NIR-PeLEDs, obtained at a very high current density of 1000 mA/cm(2), while importantly avoiding the efficiency roll-off effect. In depth photophysical characterization allows to identify the possible role of the biopolymer in i) enhancing the radiative recombination coefficient, improving light extraction by reducing the refractive index, or ii) enhancing the effective optical absorption because of dielectric scattering at the polymer-perovskite interfaces. Our study reveals how the use of insulating matrixes for the growth of perovskites represents a step towards high power applications of PeLEDs. Funding Agencies|Regione Puglia through Samset2018 [r_puglia/A00_137/PROT/17/07/2017/001578]; MIUR (Italian Ministry of University and Research) through PRIN PERovskite-based Solar cells: towards high Efficiency and lOng-term stability (PERSEO) [20155LECAJ]; Fondazione di Sardegna - Convenzione triennale tra la Fondazione di Sardegna e gli Atenei Sardi Regione Sardegna [L.R. 7/2007, F72F16003040002]; SIR project "Two-Dimensional Colloidal Metal Dichalcogenides based Energy-Conversion Photovoltaics" (2D ECO), Bando SIR (Scientific Independence of young Researchers) 2014 MIUR Decreto Direttoriale 23 gennaio 2014 [197, RBSI14FYVD, CUP: B82I15000950008]; Regione Puglia; ARTI [LSBC6N4, GOWMB21]; China Scholarship Council

We investigate the effect of commonly used solution-processed TiOx, SnO2and ZnO interlayers on the perovskite film crystallization process. We find that the ZnO/perovskite interface can efficiently catalyze the perovskite crystallization even without thermal annealing.

Organometal halide perovskites are under rapid development, and significant focus has been placed on their stability that currently presents a major obstacle for practical application. Energetics plays a vital role in charge injection/extraction and transport properties in devices. Here, we in situ investigate oxygen and water-induced energetics degradation in organometal halide perovskite films. Oxygen gas induces an upward shift of the vacuum level of the perovskite films because of the formation of an oxygen induced surface dipole, water vapor causes a significant vacuum-level downshift, and the valence band binding energy referenced to the Fermi level simultaneously increases so as to keep the ionization potential of the perovskite films unchanged. Moreover, the chemical compositions, crystalline structures, surface morphologies, and dynamical properties also are monitored and analyzed in detail. These results are indispensable to understand the degradation mechanisms and to perform the optimizations of stable materials and devices in the future. Funding Agencies|National Science Foundation of China [11604099]; Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities; Swedish Research Council [2016-05498]; Goran Gustafsson Foundation for Research in Nature Sciences and Medicine; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University (Faculty Grant SFO Mat LiU) [2009 00971]; China Scholarship Council; Open Project of Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon Based Functional Materials Devices

Chemical doping is often used to enhance electric conductivity of the conjugated molecule as hole-transporting material (HTM) for the application in optoelectronics. However, chemical dopants can promote ion migration at the electrical field, which deteriorates the device efficiency as well as increases the fabrication cost. Here, two star HTMs, namely 2,2′,7,7′-tetrakis(N,N-di-p-methoxyphenyl-amine) 9,9′-spirobifluorene (Spiro-OMeTAD) and poly(triarylamine) are subjeted to chemical combination to yield dopant-free N2,N2,N2′,N2′,N7,N7,N7′,N7′-octakis(4-methoxyphenyl)-10-phenyl-10H-spiro[acridine-9,9′-fluorene]-2,2′,7,7′-tetraamine (SAF-OMe). The power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 12.39% achieved by solar cells based on pristine, dopant-free SAF-OMe are among the highest reported for perovskite solar cells and are even comparable to devices based on chemically doped Spiro-OMeTAD (14.84%). Moreover, using a HTM comprised of SAF-OMe with an additional dopant results in a record PCE of 16.73%. Compared to Spiro-OMeTAD-based devices, SAF-OMe significantly improves stability.

Layered bismuth selenide (L-Bi2Se3) nanoplates were implemented as hole transporting layers (HTLs) for inverted organic solar cells. Device based on L-Bi2Se3 showed increasing power conversion efficiency (PCE) during ambient condition storage process. A PCE of 4.37% was finally obtained after 5 days storage, which outperformed the ones with evaporated-MoO3 using poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) as donor material and [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PC61BM) as acceptor. The improved device efficiency can be attributed to the high conductivity and increasing work function of L-Bi2Se3. The work function of L-Bi2Se3 increased with the storage time in ambient condition due to the oxygen atom doping. Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy and high resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were conducted to verify the increased work function, which originated from the p-type doping process. The device based on L-Bi2Se3 exhibited excellent stability in ambient condition up to 4 months, which was much improved compared to the device based on traditional HTLs.

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) based on organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites, in particular, 3D and quasi-2D ones, are in the fast development and their external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) have exceeded 10%, making them competitive candidates toward large-area and low-cost light-emitting applications allowing printing techniques. Similar to other LED categories, light out-coupling efficiency is an important parameter determining the EQE of perovskite LEDs (PeLEDs), which, however, is scarcely studied, limiting further efficiency improvement and understanding of PeLEDs. In this work, for the first time, optical energy losses in PeLEDs are investigated through systematic optical simulations, which reveal that the 3D and quasi-2D PeLEDs can achieve theoretically maximum EQEs of approximate to 25% and approximate to 20%, respectively, in spite of their high refractive indices. These results are consistent with the reported experimental data. This work presents primary understanding of the optical energy losses in PeLEDs and will spur new developments in the aspects of device engineering and light extraction techniques to boost the EQEs of PeLEDs. Funding Agencies|ERC [717026]; Carl Tryggers Stiftelse; European Commission [691210]; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University [2009-00971]; National Basic Research Program of China [2016YFE0112000]; European Union [2016YFE0112000]; State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices at South China University of Technology [2017-skllmd-05]; State Key Lab of Silicon Materials at Zhejiang University [SKL2017-03]; China Scholarship Council [201506920047]; [2016-02051]

Recently, Ruddlesden-Popper perovskites (RPPs) have attracted increasing interests due to their promising stability. However, the efficiency of solar cells based on RPPs is much lower than that based on 3D perovskites, mainly attributed to their poor charge transport. Herein, a simple yet universal method for controlling the quality of RPP films by a synergistic effect of two additives in the precursor solution is presented. RPP films achieved by this method show (a) high quality with uniform morphology, enhanced crystallinity, and reduced density of sub-bandgap states, (b) vertically oriented perovskite frameworks that facilitate efficient charge transport, and (c) type-II band alignment that favors self-driven charge separation. Consequently, a hysteresis-free RPP solar cell with a power conversion efficiency exceeding 12%, which is much higher than that of the control device (1.5%), is achieved. The findings will spur new developments in the fabrication of high-quality, aligned, and graded RPP films essential for realizing efficient and stable perovskite solar cells. Funding Agencies|Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China [11304115]; National Natural Science Foundation of China [51473138]; Joint NTU-LiU Ph.D. programme on Materials and Nanoscience; Swedish Research Council VR [330-2014-6433]; European Commission Marie Sklodowska-Curie action [INCA 600398, 691210]; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University (Faculty Grant SFO-Mat-LiU) [2009-00971]; Nanyang Technological University [M4080514]; Ministry of Education Academic Research Fund Tier 1 grants [RG101/15, RG173/16]; Ministry of Education Academic Research Fund Tier 2 grants [MOE2014-T2-1-044, MOE2015-T2-2-015, MOE2016-T2-1-034]; Singapore National Research Foundation through the Competitive Research Program [NRF-CRP14-2014]; Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship [2016-02051]

Solution-processed tin dioxide is employed as an electron transport layer in n–i–p-structured perovskite light-emitting diodes realizing an EQE of 7.9%., To achieve high-performance perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs), an appropriate functional layer beneath the perovskite emissive layer is significantly important to modulate the morphology of the perovskite film and to facilitate charge injection and transport in the device. Herein, for the first time, we report efficient n–i–p structured PeLEDs using solution-processed SnO2 as an electron transport layer. Three-dimensional perovskites, such as CH(NH2)2PbI3 and CH3NH3PbI3, are found to be more chemically compatible with SnO2 than with commonly used ZnO. In addition, SnO2 shows good transparency, excellent morphology and suitable energy levels. These properties make SnO2 a promising candidate in both three- and low-dimensional PeLEDs, among which a high external quantum efficiency of 7.9% has been realized. Furthermore, interfacial materials that are widely used to improve the device performances of ZnO-based PeLEDs are also applied on SnO2-based PeLEDs and their effects have been systematically studied. In contrast to ZnO, SnO2 modified by these interfacial materials shows detrimental effects due to photoluminescence quenching.

Organic electronics have gained widespread attention due to their flexibility, lightness, and low-cost potential. It is attractive due to the possibility of large-scale roll-to-roll processing. However, organic electronics require additional development before they can be made commercially available and fully integrated into everyday life. To achieve feasibility for commercial use, these devices must be biocompatible and flexible while maintaining high performance. In this study, biocompatible silk fibroin (SF) was integrated with a mesh of silver nanowires (AgNWs) to build up flexible organic solar cells with maximum power conversion efficiency of up to 6.62%. The AgNW/SF substrate exhibits a conductivity of ∼11.0 Ω/sq and transmittance of ∼80% in the visible light range. These substrates retained their conductivity, even after being bent and unbent 200 times; this surprising ability was attributed to its embedded structure and the properties of the specific SF materials used. To contrast, indium tin oxide on synthetic plastic substrate lost its conductivity after the much less rigid bending. These lightweight and silk-based organic solar cells pave the way for future biocompatible interfaces between wearable electronics and human skin.

Perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) have gained tremendous attention in the past several years because of their high efficiency, low fabrication cost, highly pure and widely tunable light emission, and so on. With great efforts on the engineering of perovskite compositions and device structures, the external quantum efficiency of PeLEDs has been dramatically boosted to more than 20%, well comparable with the current commercialized light-emitting technologies. However, the poor operational stability, including the spectral instability in pure-blue (emission wavelength, 450–470 nm) and pure-red (emission wavelength, 620–650 nm) PeLEDs and short operational lifetime under electrical bias, still hinders their possible practical applications. In this review, we summarize the recent progress on the development of perovskite materials and device structures to improve spectral stability in pure-blue and pure-red PeLEDs and device operational stability under working conditions. In addition, we also present an outlook on possible strategies that can be used to further improve the stability of PeLEDs.

A new naphthodifuran (NDF) building block has been designed and synthesized. The distinguishing feature of the monomer is two dialkyl substituted thieno groups which are placed in the middle of the ring-fused structure as solubilizing groups. The steric interactions between repeating units in the polymer can be reduced by placing the solubilising groups in the middle of the ring-fused structure. Those dialkyl substituted thieno groups not only improved the solubility of the polymer but also provided additional conjugation in the second dimension. The new monomer (NDFT) was applied to the synthesis of the conjugated polymer (PNDFT-DTBT). The photovoltaic properties of the polymer were evaluated in bulk hetero-junction polymer solar cell devices with PC61BM as acceptors under AM 1.5G illumination at 100 mW cm−2. The device showed an open circuit voltage (Voc) of 0.89 V, a fill factor (FF) of 0.72, a short-circuit current density (Jsc) of 8.21 mA cm−2, and a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 5.22%.

Graphene oxide (GO) is employed as a hole conductor in inverted planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells, and the devices with CH₃NH₃PbI₃-xClx as absorber achieve an efficiency of over 12%. The perovskite film grown on GO exhibits enhanced crystallization, high surface coverage ratio as well as preferred in-plane orientation of the (110) plane. Efficient hole extraction from the perovskite to GO is demonstrated.

Solution-processed phosphomolybdic acid (PMA) was investigated as a hole extraction layer for organic solar cells without any post-annealing processes. PMA is a stable, cost-effective, and commercial soluble oxide cluster, which dramatically simplifies the device fabrication process as well as reduces the cost. The PMA-based device with an active layer of poly[[4,8-bis[(2-ethylhexyl)oxy]benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene-2,6-diyl][3-fluoro-2-[(2-ethylhexl)carbonyl]thieno [3,4-b]thiophenediyl]] (PTB7) mixed with [6,6]-phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl ester (PC71BM) achieved a power conversion efficiency (PCE) as high as 8.32% compared with 7.46% for an evaporated MoO3 (e-MoO3)-based device. Transient electrical output characteristics, optical measurements as well as scanning Kelvin probe microscopy were utilized to investigate the improvement in the performance of the device. The results indicated that the enhanced PCE was due to suppressed charge recombination as well as an improved optical path across the device, which led to an enhanced short-circuit current density and fill factor. In addition, the PMA-based device displayed improved long term stability in ambient conditions compared to the e-MoO3-based device.

Design and synthesis of novel monomers may create new opportunities for high performance semiconducting polymers. The synthetic modification of an isoindigo related building block based on rational design has been carried out in this study. An expanded isoindigo unit (IBTI) with 5,5′-divinyl-2,2′-bithiophene as a conjugated bridge has been successfully incorporated into a donor–acceptor conjugated polymer, PBDT–IBTI. The new polymer showed broad absorption and a large extinction coefficient in the visible region. The optical bandgap, HOMO and LUMO levels of this new polymer are 1.71 eV, −5.24 eV and −3.72 eV, respectively. The polymer solar cells based on PBDT–IBTI and (6,6)-phenyl-C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PC61BM) blends achieved a PCE of 6.41%. This work has demonstrated that IBTI is a promising building block for organic photovoltaic (OPV) polymers. These findings have also revealed the versatility of oxindole as the basic building element for isoindigo-like conjugated monomers.

Solar cell generates electrical energy from light one via pulling excited carrier away under built-in asymmetry. Doped semiconductor with antireflection layer is general strategy to achieve this including crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cell. However, loss of extra energy beyond band gap and light reflection in particular wavelength range is known to hinder the efficiency of c-Si cell. Here, it is found that part of short wavelength sunlight can be converted into polarization electrical field, which strengthens asymmetry in organic-c-Si heterojunction solar cell through molecule alignment process. The light harvested by organometal trihalide perovskite nanoparticles (NPs) induces molecular alignment on a conducting polymer, which generates positive electrical surface field. Furthermore, a "field-effect solar cell" is successfully developed and implemented by combining perovskite NPs with organic/c-Si heterojunction associating with light-induced molecule alignment, which achieves an efficiency of 14.3%. In comparison, the device with the analogous structure without perovskite NPs only exhibits an efficiency of 12.7%. This finding provides a novel concept to design solar cell by sacrificing part of sunlight to provide "extra" asymmetrical field continuously as to drive photogenerated carrier toward respective contacts under direct sunlight. Moreover, it also points out a method to combine promising perovskite material with c-Si solar cell.

Organometal halide perovskites exhibit a bright future for applications in solar cells, as efficiency has achieved over 22%. The long-term stability remains a major obstacle for commercialization. ...

Colloidal metal halide perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) have emerged as promising materials for optoelectronic devices and received considerable attention recently. Their superior photoluminescence (PL) properties provide significant advantages for lighting and display applications. In this Highlight, we discuss recent developments in the design and chemical synthesis of colloidal perovskite NCs, including both organic-inorganic hybrid and all inorganic perovskite NCs. We review the excellent PL properties and current optoelectronic applications of these perovskite NCs. In addition, critical challenges that currently limit the applicability of perovskite NCs are discussed, and prospects for future directions are proposed. Funding Agencies|Swedish Research Council (VR); Swedish Research Council (FORMAS); European Commission Marie Sklodowska-Curie actions; Carl Tryggers Stiftelse; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University (Faculty Grant SFO-Mat-LiU) [2009-00971]; China Scholarship Council