As the global temperature rises, we are approaching tipping points, beyond which the Earth’s climate factors can begin to irreversibly decay. This is one of the reasons why renewable energy is rapidly evolving. According to the recent data, solar and wind energy is being developed five times faster than other (hydro, nuclear, hydrogen, etc.) green energy sources combined. Market research suggests that the sun as a sustainable source for electricity is one of the most practical ways for tackling climate change[1].
Perovskite solar cells (PSCs), with their high efficiency and low-cost production are increasingly attracting the attention of researchers and potential manufacturers. PSCs are undergoing rapid development and continue to impress with efficiencies as high as 26% [2]. PSCs still have long term stability issues, however some progress was achieved when self-assembled monolayers were introduced into the structure of PSCs to passivate surface defects that occur between perovskite and metal oxide layers.
Organic dyes have a high potential to be used as self-assembled monolayers. Due to the rich chemistry of dyes, extended π-conjugation system and the ability to strongly bind to the metal oxide, the dyes can be used as stability enhancing materials for perovskite solar cells. With proper optimization of dyes and their functional groups these organic compounds could theoretically act as either electron or hole transporting materials depending on the device configuration. In this work we synthesized and studied triphenylamine based materials that could be applied as charge transporting monolayers for the application in perovskite solar cells.