A crosslinked polymer as dopant-free hole-transport material for efficient n-i-p type perovskite solar cells

Abstract A new crosslinked polymer, called P65, with appropriate photo-electrochemical, opto-electronic, and thermal properties, has been designed and synthesized as an efficient, dopant-free, hole-transport material (HTM) for n-i-p type planar perovskite solar cells (PSCs). P65 is obtained from a low-cost and easily synthesized spiro[fluorene-9,9'-xanthene]-3',6'-diol (SFX-OH)-based monomer X65 through a free-radical polymerization reaction. The combination of a three-dimensional (3D) SFX core unit, hole-transport methoxydiphenylamine group, and crosslinked polyvinyl network provides P65 with good solubility and excellent film-forming properties. By employing P65 as a dopant-free hole-transport layer in conventional n-i-p type PSCs, a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of up to 17.7% is achieved. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time a 3D, crosslinked, polymeric dopant-free HTM has been reported for use in conventional n-i-p type PSCs. This study provides a new strategy for the future development of a 3D crosslinked polymeric dopant-free HTM with a simple synthetic route and low-cost for commercial, large-scale applications in future PSCs.