Modulating Crystal Growth with Sacrificial Coordination for High-Performance Perovskite Solar Cells via Intense Pulsed Light Annealing

Intense pulsed light (IPL) annealing has emerged as a transformative technology for the high-throughput, low-cost fabrication of perovskite films, enabling the rapid conversion of precursor wet films into perovskite films within milliseconds. Despite their potential, the efficiencies of IPL-processed devices have yet to match those achieved through conventional thermal annealing (TA), primarily due to the challenges of uncontrolled crystallization and defect formation during the IPL process. In this study, a solid Lewis base additive, dodecyl methyl sulfoxide (DodecylMSO) is introduced, to modulate perovskite crystal growth and improve film morphology and uniformity under IPL conditions. DodecylMSO acts as a sacrificial additive, with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirming the majority of it is removed in the final films. Compared to the control films, DodecylMSO-modified films exhibited significantly reduced defect densities and enhanced carrier extraction and transport properties. Leveraging this approach, p-i-n perovskite solar cells (PSCs) is demonstrated with a champion power conversion efficiency of 23.5% fabricated via IPL. This sacrificial coordination strategy not only addresses key challenges in IPL processing but also opens new avenues for advancing the manufacturability and scalability of high-performance PSCs.