Dredging the Charge-Carrier Transfer Pathway for Efficient Low-Dimensional Ruddlesden-Popper Perovskite Solar Cells

Low-dimensional Ruddlesden-Popper (LDRP) perovskites still suffer from inferior carrier transport properties. Here, we demonstrate that efficient exciton dissociation and charge transfer can be achieved in LDRP perovskite by introducing γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) as a spacer. The hydrogen bonding links adjacent spacing sheets in (GABA)₂MA₃Pb₄I₁₃ (MA=CH₃NH₃⁺), leading to the charges localized in the van der Waals gap, thereby constructing “charged-bridge” for charge transfer through the spacing region. Additionally, the polarized GABA weakens dielectric confinement, decreasing the (GABA)₂MA₃Pb₄I₁₃ exciton binding energy as low as ≈73 meV. Benefiting from these merits, the resultant GABA-based solar cell yields a champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 18.73 % with enhanced carrier transport properties. Furthermore, the unencapsulated device maintains 92.8 % of its initial PCE under continuous illumination after 1000 h and only lost 3 % of its initial PCE under 65 °C for 500 h.