Analysis of Perovskite Solar Cell Degradation over Time Using NIR Spectroscopy—A Novel Approach

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a dynamic development of photovoltaic materials based on perovskite structures. Solar cells based on perovskite materials are characterised by a relatively high price/performance ratio. Achieving stability at elevated temperatures has remained one of the greatest challenges in the perovskite solar cell research community. However, significant progress in this field has been made by utilising different compositional engineering routes for the fabrication of perovskite semiconductors such as triple cation-based perovskite structures. In this work, a new approach for the rapid analysis of the changes occurring in time in perovskite structures was developed. We implemented a quick and inexpensive method of estimating the ageing of perovskite structures based on an express diagnosis of light reflection in the near-infrared region. The possibility of using optical reflectance in the NIR range (900–1700 nm) to observe the ageing of perovskite structures over time was investigated, and changes in optical reflectance spectra of original perovskite solar cell structures during one month after PSC production were monitored. The ratio of characteristic pikes in the reflection spectra was determined, and statistical analysis by the two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2D-COS) method was performed. This method allowed correctly detecting critical points in thermal ageing over time.