Redox-Buffering PEAI-CeOx Passivation Suppresses Thermo-Mechanical Degradation in Perovskite Solar Cells Under Rapid Thermal Cycling

Published

July 27, 2026

Author(s)

George Asare, Minwoo Lee, Joshua Adu, Juhong Oh, Behrang Hamadani, Jae Sung Yun, Helen Park

Abstract

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) show critical thermo-mechanical and defect mediated degradation at interfaces, limiting their deployment in terrestrial high-temperature and space-like environments. This study presents a dual-function interfacial passivation strategy that combines nanoparticle cerium oxide (CeOx) with phenylethylammonium iodide (PEAI) to form a hybrid surface treatment (PC) for poly[bis(4-phenyl)(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)amine (PTAA) based n-i-p PSC architecture, where defect passivation is complemented by redox coupling and enhanced thermal stress stabilization. Optimized PC-treated devices achieved a champion efficiency of 25.3% and exhibited superior operational stabilities under continuous 1 SUN light soaking and 85℃/85% RH damp heat respectively. To probe the engineered interface mechanistically, we employed an accelerated thermal shock (TS) cycling to mimic low Earth orbit (LEO) relevant thermal cycling condition. Under realistically simulated TS conditions of cycling temperature between 80℃ to -80℃ and 16℃/min ramp rate transition, PC-treated devices retained 95% of initial efficiency after 100 cycles of TS, showing superior stability compared to their counterparts without CeOx. Collectively, this work highlights a new insight into dynamic thermal fatigue in PSCs and introduces a practical route towards thermally resilient, high efficiency perovskite photovoltaics.

Citation

Advanced Energy Materials

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.71312

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Keywords

photovoltaics, perovskites

Citation

Asare, G. , Lee, M. , Adu, J. , Oh, J. , Hamadani, B. , Yun, J. and Park, H. (2026), Redox-Buffering PEAI-CeOx Passivation Suppresses Thermo-Mechanical Degradation in Perovskite Solar Cells Under Rapid Thermal Cycling, Advanced Energy Materials, [online], https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.71312, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=959694 (Accessed September 18, 2026)

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