Rapid Crystallization for Efficient 2D Ruddlesden–Popper (2DRP) Perovskite Solar Cells

Due to the additional introduction of bulky organic ammonium and the competition between bulky organic ammonium and methyl ammonium in 2D Ruddlesden-Popper (2DRP) perovskite, the crystallization process becomes complicated. Here, it is demonstrated that the rapid crystallization controlled by processing solvents plays an important role in achieving high-quality 2DRP perovskite films. It is found that the processing solvents, e.g., dimethylacetamide (DMAC), N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), with a different polarity and boiling point, have almost no effect on crystal structure and phase distribution but have a remarkable effect on crystallization kinetics, crystal growth orientation, and crystallinity of 2DRP perovskite. Compared to polar aprotic solvent DMF and DMSO with a high boiling point, DMAC with low polarity and a suitable boiling point has a weak coordination to lead and ammonium salts and is easy to escape during solution processing, which is able to accelerate the crystallization rate of 2DRP perovskite. Benefitting from the rapid crystallization enabled high-quality 2DRP perovskite films, the best-performing device with improved stability and a power conversion efficiency of 12.15% is obtained using DMAC solvent. These findings may give guidance for solvent engineering for highly efficient 2DRP perovskite solar cells in the future.