PTAA/Ag-Based Large Area Perovskite Solar Cells Toward Low-Cost and Ambient Stability

The development of ambient stable and large-area inorganic–organic hybrid perovskite solar cells (PvSCs) is necessary to translate the technology into our daily life. The concerning issue is that the materials are easily degradable and need proper attention toward the degradation mechanism. A polymer material, PTAA, can be used for the hole transporting layer (HTL) of the PvSCs, which may have better stability. This work focuses on the impact of the polymer PTAA on the stability of mesoporous n–i–p structured RbCs(MAFA)PbI₃–PvSCs while using silver (Ag) as a top electrode and, in other cases, gold (Au) as the top electrode. Comparing the device performance with two different electrodes (Ag and Au) over small (0.25 cm²) and large areas (1.0 cm²), the critical role of the HTL material in the stability and performance of a fabricated device has been demonstrated here. The PTAA/Ag and PTAA/Au combination-based devices showed almost the same performance. The unencapsulated Ag electrode-based RbCs(MAFA)PbI₃–PvSCs yielded a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 10.29% over a 0.25 cm² active area. The fabricated device retains over 50% of its initial efficiency after 2000 h of storage in ambient conditions. At the same time, the PTAA/Au combination-based device showed better stability in ambient conditions. We chose the PTAA/Ag combination as a winner as it could provide a fast, easy, and cost-effective method for developing highly efficient, stable PvSCs.