Novel Ag-Mesh Transparent Hybrid Electrodes for Highly Efficient and Mechanically Stable Flexible Perovskite Solar Cells

Metal-mesh transparent conductive electrodes (TCEs)-based flexible perovskite solar cells (FPSCs) have been intensively explored to improve the efficiency and stability of the devices, whereas undesired metal-induced decomposition of perovskite during film formation process could undermine the performance and stability of device. In this work, the authors construct a novel flexible hybrid electrode combining silver (Ag) mesh-embedded poly(ethylene terephthalate) film (PET/Ag-mesh) with a thin indium tin oxide (ITO) layer, named PET/Ag-mesh/ITO, which exhibits outstanding photoelectric properties, chemical stability, and mechanical durability. They introduce the thin ITO film as a barrier layer to protect perovskite from the metal-induced degradation. In comparison, the PET/Ag-mesh/ITO based FPSCs achieve an optimized power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 18.10%, which is among the highest reported values for metal-mesh based FPSCs to date. Owing to the excellent properties of PET/Ag-mesh/ITO, the corresponding FPSCs demonstrate extraordinary mechanical and thermal stability, which is comparable to that of their rigid ITO-based counterparts.